Naruto: Hero or Assassin?
by The Phantom Penance
Summary: Trained to kill without question, taught to save the innocents. Watch an amnesiac Naruto ride an emotional rollercoaster goose chase for his identity while providing the proper training and support for the Team. Naru/Harem
1. Chapter 1

**This is the Phantompenance here with a brand new story that's been festering in my head for quite some time now, and I've decided to try and give this a shot at my first Naruto/Multi fanfic!**

**I already have a set of whom will be in the pairing, but they're limited to three at the moment. If you-the audience-want more, you are going to have to review or PM me, preferably review because I check those more often**

**Anyway, check my other fics if you like my work, and enjoy**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING**

Regular Talk: I'm Batman

_Thoughts/Communicator/Dream: No, I'm Batman_

**Demonic/Spells/Jutsu: Forget them both, I'm Batman**

**Chapter 1: Bad Nightmares and New Beginnings**

* * *

_Naruto stared at him, and he stared back at Naruto. They stood right in front of each other both garbed in all black and armed with a gleaming sword, Naruto did not know the man's name but the man knew Naruto about as much as Naruto knew himself, or at least what he could remember._

"_Begin!" A voice commanded. The man yelled as he slashed his sword downward, but it was child's play for the blonde to merely block the attack, the fight quickly turned into a whirlwind of hacks and slashes, but only one of the men was really trying._

_Naruto caught his break when his attacker tried to stab him, he side-stepped and jabbed his elbow into the man's arm, the opponent's sword clattered to the ground as a result. He yelled and kicked Naruto in the stomach. It didn't faze the blonde, rather he was surprised that the man got a hit in, the ninja took that opportunity to take Naruto's sword and slam it on the ground, Naruto only grinned in anticipation as he placed up a defensive form. "I don't need a sword to beat you."_

_The man jabbed at Naruto's forehead followed by swift punch to the gut, if only they connected. Naruto dodged the jab and grabbed the punch to the gut, he twisted the man's arm to get him to cry out in pain before punching him in the face and gut. He followed by kicking the man's leg out, making his opponent fall on the ground before Naruto, and at his mercy._

"_Finish him!" Commanded the voice of the male who started the match. Naruto looked at the shadow of a man who stood on a balcony overlooking the whole display. "Master, he is a Shadow whose loyalty is yours alone." Naruto defended, the man below him stared at the blonde in disbelief and anger._

"_He challenged your place amongst the League of Shadows. Dissuade any and all doubts of you being an outsider!" The man replied, "Then if it pleases you, I would like to purchase this man's life with my self-worth to the League," Naruto negotiated, the man merely gave a sigh before ending the fight with a wave._

_Naruto immediately released the man, not bothering to watch him collapse to the ground and fiercely clutch his hand as two figures walked to the blonde. "Mercy does not suit a proper assassin. You must remember that we live in a merciless world."_

"_Doesn't mean we have to be wholly merciless in kind, Master Ra's Al Ghul," Naruto wisely replied, then he grinned, "besides, even my mercy has its limits." He suspected that his opponent would be a sore loser and attempt to attack once his back was turned, that's why he packed one shuriken._

_He spun around quickly to see the man rushing him with a blade, then threw the projectile straight into his neck. The man gurgled and grabbed his neck hastily as blood began to splurt out, the Shadows ninja fell to the ground in a slow death._

_Ra's wasn't surprised at the man's deception, he had taught his fair share of disappointments in his long life. "The rules state that there was to be no weapons," he reminded, Naruto gave an innocent stare at the Demon's Head, "We obey rules?"_

_Ra's stared, and stared, and stared, then smiled. "Very good Naruto. For a moment, I was beginning to think that Talia would have to wait for another suitor." Taking that as her cue, a beautiful dark-brown haired woman left her father's side to lean on Naruto's shoulder in a possessive manner._

"_Yeah, I guess that would kind of suck," he agreed. Ra's pointed at a doorway, "I'm certain I don't have to remind you, but Sensei would like to address you after this." Naruto nodded and walked to the door. When he opened it, to his shock, he saw a familiar face of a woman with black hair and dark eyes, said eyes were filled with tears of betrayal._

"_Paula…" he gasped before hearing a gunshot, she shot him in the chest, he stared at the blood on his chest as his vision dimmed…._

Naruto awoke from that with a gasp. He was safe, and thankfully not shot, that was all a dream.

"Naruto, are you alright?" He glanced at his right to see Paula waking up besides him, she didn't appear sad or particularly murderous, probably just tired and concerned for her husband.

"Yeah, just… bad dreams," he muttered back, not really wanting to delve into specifics. Talia and the League was behind him now, this was his life now.

"If you say so…" Paula replied as she rose from the bed to stretch. "I should wake the girls up, they'll be late for school." Naruto nodded as he stared at the gold ring on his middle finger, it still felt surreal to him to be married, and with two girls as kids as well.

Their door opened, then a gunshot followed by Paula screaming.

Naruto shot his head up to see his wife dead on the ground, and Talia standing before him with a smoking gun. "I can't believe I ever loved you," she muttered before pulling the trigger in his general direction.

* * *

"**AAHH!" **Naruto raved himself to consciousness as thunder crashed in his window. He quickly glanced around to find himself in a dark apartment, alone in bed, and certainly without a ring on his finger; he started to calm down.

A double nightmare. Did such a thing even existed? It didn't matter, the facts was that both Paula and Talia was in the past, he wasn't an assassin or a married man, the latter he could never be.

His phone buzzed beside him, and there was only one person who would call at 2:00 in the morning, he answered it anyway. "Yes, Captain Sourpuff?"

"Where are you?" Demanded a voice that was half-way deep, a percentage of a growl, and the rest was poorly made to sound scratchy. "I don't know Bats, where on Earth would I be at 2 in the morning after patrolling Gotham till 1:30?" Naruto replied sarcastically.

"There's a robbery at the General Bank. Scarecrow's got Killer Croc backing him up on this one." The Dark Knight reported over the phone. "Why don't you bring Dick with you?" The blonde asked in a whiny tone.

"He deserves his rest, today is the day as I'm quite sure you know." "…..could you believe that after a straight week of reminding me, I still forgot?" "Yes, I do. Get there. Now." With that, Batman promptly hung up on Naruto. He sighed and reached for his armor while complaining to himself.

The man dressed himself in all black armor that was spray-painted bright orange on the sides of his rib area and between his legs as well as the single sword on his back. Naruto tied on his fox-like mask to his face to complete the transformation from an ordinary man to the Shadow Fox, partner to Batman, defender of Gotham, and a chatterbox.

Running across the rooftops of Gotham in the rain was a great wake up for the hero, but it failed to keep his thoughts from reminiscing in the past.

Reason he became a superhero (or vigilante) was to do the right thing and _feel _like he was doing the right thing. Fixing the world's problems with death wasn't always the right answer, and he found out the real hard way that the bad guys and/or their families don't ever forget what he did to them.

That's why he isolated himself in Gotham for a fresh start as the Shadow Fox, and it was purely coincidental that Paula also moved there at the same time. Really.

Shadow Fox didn't even bother to wait as he fell through the roof window into the bank above some startled crooks. '_Thought just occurred, why does nearly every building in Gotham have those?' _ He mentally wondered as the crooks yelled something out, probably went along the lines of shooting him.

Shadow Fox ducked behind a counter as the men wasted their bullets away against wood, completely oblivious to the fact that guns do need to reload when they run dry of ammo. Once the familiar 'click click' sound ensured, he popped out of the corner and threw shurikens at their hands.

"You guys aren't really good at this, are you?" He questioned, their response was to run up to him for melee, poor things, looked like Naruto had to teach them the pecking order. He chopped the first goon in the neck and struck him twice in the chest before flipping him over his head, the second one threw his fist out at Naruto's head, but he leaned back and broke the man's arm.

"MY ARM-" he barely had time to register it before Naruto headbutted him and roundhouse kicking the guy right behind him. "You got some stupid guards Scare-"

Naruto faced the Scare king and nearly had a hearattack. Standing in front of him, was the silent Batman who held onto an unconscious villain.

"You took your time." Batman stated in a simple manner, "Yeah!? Well… I had a late night, 'ttebayo!"

* * *

**Chapter Completed!**

**What a mess of a life Naruto had to leave behind. If I get enough reviews, the later on chapters will explain that later on in the story**

**Just to let you know: Girls in the Multiple Pairing are as of now**

**Talia Al Ghul**

**Paula Crock (Huntress)**

**Poison Ivy (Optional)**

**Not many, but that's where you all come in! Review who should join, and please tell me how you liked the story so far while you're at it. I like good reviews!**

**Check out my other fanfics while you're at it!**

**MAY THE YOUTH BE WITH YOU, ALWAYS –Jedi Master Maito "Might" Guy**


	2. Chapter 2: We get it, Today's the Day!

**Guess what? I'm back!**

**Yeah, I'm going to be working throughout my Spring Break because-lucky for you guys-this is what I call relaxing: writing stories for my crowd.**

**Without further ado, check out my other works, and a reminder**

**I OWN NOTHING!**

* * *

**Chapter Two: A New Life**

"That's a lot of people." Shadow Fox muttered in a testy tone, he stared at the reporters that waited for the heroes at the footsteps of the Hall of Justice, the reporters and the people behind them. It made him worry if any of them were concealing a weapon –licensed or not- and that unnerved him.

"You could have waited in the Hall." Batman replied, he knew how his partner wasn't very accustomed to large crowds, it was one of the factors that made his PTSD start kicking up. So far, the fox themed hero was strong enough on his own to stop the impulses that raged for him to make a public spectacle, but that would change real soon if he stayed out in the open for a long while.

"Pfft, no way I would've waited. Today's squirt's day and I wouldn't miss it, not after the whole week of reminding me," He replied after ruffling up Robin's hair, the said Boy Wonder took offense to both the ruffle and the nickname, "I'm not a squirt! I've taken down most of Gotham's worst, I think _that _entitles me to a new nickname."

"Really? Cuz you're kinda small for your age, and that's a dent in your man card in my books," he teased while pulling at Robin's cheek. "I would _love _to break your hand if the moves I know weren't taught by you." "To me, it sounds like you're scared," the blonde cooed.

"It would seem we are late," King Arthur, or Aquaman, declared behind the three. Naruto's fellow blonde had also brought along his protégé, an African…well, he guessed African-Atlantean male with a lighter blonde color for hair that was cut short. The boy wore a sleeveless armor that was red with black pants and no shoes, he also had two handles on his back.

"Well, you're here before Flash, that's not bad." The two clasped hands before Shadow Fox addressed the Atlantean teenager, "I'm to assume you are Aqualad." The sidekick nodded in a respectful manner, "I am. You must be Shadow Fox, Batman's assistant in Gotham. My king has spoke of you. He tells me when the Batman was reluctant to join the Justice League, you convinced him." "Be glad I did, otherwise it would've been unorganized, inefficient, and seriously in debt," Naruto laughed.

He glanced behind Aqualad to see Green Arrow along with his short-fuse of a sidekick. "I _told _you we were going to be late." Well, he hadn't have shown up for five seconds, and he was already having an attitude. "Relax, Flash isn't here yet, I'd say we're still pretty early." Green Arrow assured his redheaded partner, "Well if it ain't Jolly Saint Ollie, now the party's shown up," Queen flinched at Fox, "It's nice of you say that., but I feel that it's unfair of you to know my secret identity but not know yours."

"That's because we may both be smart-alecks, but only one of us is actually smart." Naruto replied in an honest tone. "I mean, I still haven't forgotten the time when you _actually _placed your company's logo on your arrows." "Wait a second, you did that? Seriously?" Speedy stared in an incredulous manner at his mentor, as if he never knew the man was capable of that level of ignorance, arrogance, and/or stupidity.

"I was new in the gig, okay!" The Emerald Archer hastily defended himself, "Unlike you Speedy, I didn't have somebody who scolded me for forgetting to cross the t's and dot the i's!" Naruto snickered, "That's kind of ironic to hear that from you since your superhero gig is emphasized on precision."

"Gentlemen, can we be serious for a moment." Ugh, leave it to the Bat to ruin all the fun, it's still a wonder how he makes even questions sound like statements. Heroes and sidekicks turned to face the Hall of Justice in all it's splendor glory with its title etched into stone at the entrance, its luscious fountains that shot out the purest of blue water, and-yes, it was quite boring.

"Today's the day," Batman congratulated, "Welcome to the Hall of Justice," "Headquarters of the Justice League," both Green Arrow and Aquaman finished. Naruto widened his eyes, he had completely forgotten that they were still running with that belief, he personally thought that they would've been told the day before, perhaps they would be told inside and behind soundproof windows.

"I knew we'd be the last ones here!" Oh, looks like Barry couldn't stall his sidekick after all, sounds like one Scarlet Speedster owes him money.

* * *

Reporters and the public took photos of the heroes entering the Hall, the sidekicks talked eagerly amongst themselves while Shadow Fox and Flash held a silent discussion. They entered the main room of the Hall where they were all treated to the golden statues of America's golden heroes, why Shadow Fox's own statue wasn't up there was actually a personal request for Naruto himself. The world saw him as a hero, he'd start believing them once he _believed _he was a hero.

The tour was brief because they had probably seen the Hall before, so they went straight to the unauthorized zone where Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado awaited them. '_With Red and J'onn here with Bats, guess we can assemble the Stiff trio.' _Naruto privately thought, well he thought it was private, J'onn claims he doesn't invade the privacy of minds, but the blonde had a theory that Martians were more sarcastic than honest.

…why does it feel like J'onn is staring at him?

"Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, welcome." J'onn greeted in his usual manner: short sentences composed with awkward staring. The group departed into the authorized personnel zone as Martian Manhunter continued the tour. "You now have unlimited access to our gym, fully stocked gallery, and of course, our library."A door automatically slid open to reveal a room filled with books as well as lounging chairs for comfort.

"In short, this is your home away from home," Shadow Fox explained, Flash zipped to his side before he spoke. "Make yourselves at home," "Tch, piggybacking off of me you leech?" The Fox muttered, "don't be mad that I don't owe you any money." Flash replied.

Aqualad, Robin, and Kid Flash didn't need to be told twice as they found some comfortable positions in their chairs, but Speedy stood and scowled for some strange reason, he was clearly dissatisfied with something.

"When do you think we should tell them the truth?" Shadow Fox asked as he joined in the huddle of heroes, "This is a matter we should discuss with the rest." Batman replied lowly before speaking out loud, "We'll need a quick debrief to discuss the coincidences of four ice villains attacking on the same day. We shouldn't be long."

With that the heroes headed towards the gray door that held "Justice League Only" written in big letters, a computer came out of the ceiling, scanned the seven of them and repeating their official designation. "Well that wasn't as bad as I thought," Shadow Fox muttered, "I do believe the worst is ov-" "That's it!?"

….Great.

* * *

People ran in random directions as well as screamed pure murder at the magical spectacle that appeared over their heads. It looked like a solar eclipse, but it was actually far more sinister than that. Some people did not run at all, rather marched in a straight, robotic line, kind of like they were hypnotized, "This way, all of you! Get behind me regular people!" Shadow Fox yelled as he landed in the path of the marching citizens.

"Fool, you cannot stop the destruction of the Earth." They all spoke in a monotone voice simultaneously, Shadow Fox's reply came in a groan, "Seriously Eclipso? You've been around since the League's founding, and you're still doing the same thing, trying to destroy the Earth. You shook things up a little by taking control of Wotan, but you're still so unoriginal."

"You cannot stop me, you cannot escape, you can only die." They replied and moved forward, feeling outnumbered, Naruto made a cross with his two fingers, "Multi Shadow-clone jutsu!" In response, thousands of Shadow Foxes puffed into existence and struck a defensive pose. They knew the orders: incapacitate the enemy but don't kill. They were innocent.  
"I keep forgetting that we have our own personal crowd control on board." Naruto turned to see the only heroine on the League who dared to include fishnets as a part of her costume since she had a pretty powerful singing voice to go along with it. "Black Canary. Quick question: are you and GA still going out?" "Why are you asking?" Canary replied suspiciously, it wasn't the type of things to bring up during a battle of course. "Because he wouldn't tell me," "Did you ever think he had a reason?" "ARGH! We are not doing twenty-questions today!" Naruto rage-quit, causing Dinah Lance to laugh.

"By the way, how did it go today?" "_Sigh,_ if you know Speedy well, you can guess that he didn't take being lied to very well…"

_FLASHBACK TIME, YEAH!_

"_Roy, you just need to be patient," Green Arrow stepped towards the fuming Speedy, Naruto watched as the boy let his own anger get the better of him. "What I 'need' is respect!" He turned to face his fellow sidekicks, "They're treating us like kids! Or worse, sidekicks! We deserve better than this." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the declaration, so he wanted to play it that way?_

"_Naruto…" Batman caught the blonde's arm as he stepped forward, but he shot him a single glare. It was a rare glare from the normally wisecracking hero, a powerful glare that held somewhat the same merit of Batman's glare, he normally used it when during Dick's training in the Batcave, particularly on the days when the boy wasn't being cooperative. It said 'Let me go, I need to teach somebody a lesson.'_

_And the Detective did._

"_So you want respect? You wanna be a hero, with all the privileges?" He questioned, Robin widened his eyes as he saw Naruto's face, words the Boy Wonder did not have to tell his friend how much in trouble he was. "Okay then, we'll play it by your rules." Shadow Fox's statement confused the Scarlet Archer, but all was to be clear once Shadow Fox backed away from Speedy._

"_If you can get me on my knees, then you'll be a full-time Leaguer." Everyone stared in shock at Naruto's statement. "Just like that? If I beat you, I'll be given some actual respect?" Speedy questioned, "I can only promise that you'll be a full-time League member. The respect part is your problem."_

"_I hate to interrupt, but there are people watching-" "Then make sure they don't interfere Red." Naruto snapped. Red Tornado's limited knowledge on human emotions deduced for him that the Fox themed defender of Gotham was not overly fond of being interrupted._

_Speedy began to pull out his bow before he was stopped by Shadow Fox. "You can't use that." "Why not!?" Speedy demanded, "That bow and quiver full of arrows were purchased by Olliver. __Real __heroes bought their own crime-fighting gear, even the clothes on your back isn't even yours, but it'd be embarrassing to fight naked," Naruto replied matter-of-factly._

_Green Arrow flinched, Speedy's personal pride was a main pillar for the boy, an attack like that was sure to set him off. Speedy growled as he ran to the Fox, but Naruto grabbed the boy by the arm and threw him over his shoulder, the boy landed unceremoniously to the ground._

"_That's a basic maneuver, one where you'd be dead if I had a firearm of any kind. Killed by your own anger, no hero I know would be killed so easily." Naruto taunted. Speedy growled as he got back on his feet and got into a defensive pose, there were miniscule weak points in his defense, showing that he was taking the fight seriously._

_It was quick, but Speedy clearly felt a fist strike his face, "Was that too fast? Do you need me to slow down for you?" Naruto cooed, "Quit treating me like a child!" Speedy roared as he struck to the left and the right, Naruto smoothly dodged then grabbed Speedy's leg after he tried to kick him in the chest. "Your style is a loose reflection of Black Canary, did you even bother to learn some martial arts of your own? Were you that certain of yourself, or that arrogant?"_

"_Now that's taking things to far!" Green Arrow decided to butt in, but Naruto had made his point, so he let the boy go._

"_You demand respect? You disrespect your partner-the man who practically made you a man-by complaining like a child, you disrespect your mentor's training by not bothering to follow her footsteps and try to find some fighting styles of your own. Did you ever think that if you had faced someone like me in the field and died, that your death would be on their conscience? That they'd believe you died because they failed?" Naruto questioned, the amusement left his voice real quick._

"_You, Roy, have given no respect and you think that you're automatically entitled to the same amount given to you? I loathe people who were given so much but are too consumed by what they don't have to even see it. That is not good hero material, not even a good man material."_

_FLASHBACK END_

"-of course, he left like a crybaby, but not before telling the others about the Watchtower. Ollie's raised a real brat for sure." Naruto concluded.

"It sounds like you were treating him too hard." "That's what Ollie said to me, but I told him, 'I treat Robin even harsher, and he's the kid who's not even old enough to drink his pain away.'" Both Black Canary and Shadow Fox were lounging on the neat grass as the army of Narutos kept the hypnotized citizens back. Naruto was so used to getting Crowd Control due to his cloning ability that he lounged around and allowed all his clones to do all the heavy work. This certainly annoyed more than a few Leaguers, but it hasn't raised any arguments.

Wonder Woman fell out of the sky and made a small crater right next to the two, she got on her feet and noticed them just sitting. "What are you two doing, we could use some help!" "I am helping Princess, crowd control." Naruto pointed at his own army, "I can't fly," was Black Canary's response.

"Batman can't fly and he's helping us!" "He's Batman, Di. He could redecorate the entire Watchtower into a bat-theme and everyone is either powerless to stop him, or too afraid." Naruto replied. Wonder Woman stared for a bit, then launched herself back into the sky, as a warrior princess, she knew when to concede.

"So where was I? Oh yeah, the other sidekicks got all mad that we kept the Watchtower from them, I knew that was a bad idea from the beginning." "How are they?" She asked, he merely gave a shrug. "If I was in their shoes, I'd probably be punching something to help relieve my stress."

* * *

_Meanwhile….._

"Robin, hack the door!" "It's not working!" "Then punch it or something!" "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" "Move! Angry Kryptonian clone!" "THOSE THINGS ARE COMING UP THE STAIRS!" "Calm down, Kid Flash!" "THIS WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA!"

* * *

"But that's just me, I've no idea what they'd be doing now." There was an explosion above the two, they stared upward to see the League gather around Superman who held an unconscious Wotan.

"The Amulet's been destroyed and the Eclipso shards have been gathered together, I'd say that the crisis is now over." Superman declared, the League remained silent, there would be no celebrations since another apocalyptic crisis could happen the next day or even that night.

"Hey Bats, you alright?" Flash asked the Batman, he was placing his focus on a hologram on his wrist. "Nothing about the matter at hand, but the main computer at the Hall has pulled up all information on Cadmus while we were gone." "Well you did talk about it being on fire, maybe you left it up and the janitors turned it on by accident?" Flash deduced, he was very optimistic for a police detective.

"It would require my password to the Batcave to operate, and the only people to know that is me and-" He didn't need to finish the sentence, both him and Shadow Fox suspected the horrible truth. "Everyone, to Cadmus immediately! The sidekicks may be in trouble!"

Those who could took to the skies and those who couldn't were carried by both Green Lanterns amongst others. "Not you," Batman stopped Naruto who was about to jump onto a construct pad. "Why not!?" "You have cleanup duty." "Nani!?" "Don't think for a moment that because I was pre-occupied I wasn't watching you sit around and let your clones do all the work."

Nothing else needed to be said, Batman joined the rest of League, leaving Naruto in the dirt to curse in fluent Japanese. Why? _Because he's the Batman._

* * *

_The Next Morning…._

"-I've decided to start a team for our sidekicks." After a brief recount of what happened at Cadmus for those who couldn't make and/or were busy with cleaning up the rubble and answering questions by the reporters, Batman declared his plan at the meeting room in the Watchtower. A scowling Shadow Fox was present as well.

"Intriguing. What does this team of yours do?" Red Tornado naturally went to the root of the problem, "We all know that crime happens in front of our faces and we cannot act upon it due to the fact that it could raise a political problem, or that our presence would scare them away only to return another day." Batman spoke to the Justice League.

"In short, the fear of causing an international incident, say a war, has stopped us from pursuing the root of crime." "So you want children to break international laws like some sort of covert team?" Wonder Woman questioned, she and Batman may have been-or could be- an old flame, but there was no question that she didn't agree with a _lot_ of his ethics.

"Mostly dealing with reconnaissance and sample collecting, but in a tight nutshell, yes." Batman agreed, "Batman, suggestions like that is what make people like Amanda Waller and Glorious Godfrey, your willingness to bend the law-even break it sometimes- is what places the Justice League in the highest of scrutiny!"

"Princess, you saw what I saw in Cadmus. A government approved facility was making illegal components and shipping them to persons or persons unknown. The villains are getting smarter, playing the law against itself, it won't be long until they start coordinating their efforts."

"What, people like the Joker working with Lex Luthor? As if!" Captain Marvel brushed aside in a very childlike manner. "It's been done before," Batman replied darkly.

"I agree with Batman."

All heads turned incredulously to face Superman, the Man of Steel disagrees with Batman about as much as Wonder Woman disagreed with Batman. "We're too flashy to find the bad guys in their lair. Batman's covert team suggestion gives us a chance to find where they're hiding and put them behind bars for good." Being an ex-ninja and Batman's partner, Naruto knew exactly why Superman was siding with the Detective. It was all about his clone, the nerve of somebody to take the Invincible Superman's DNA to clone a weapon against him, it was Doomsday all over again.

"If this is being considered, then I would like to request that my niece be apart of this team." J'onn spoke as an image of a smiling girl with red hair and freckles appeared in the center for all to see. "I don't know J'onn, you sure she's ready for Earth?" Hawkgirl questioned.

"This will be good for her, I assure you," He promised, "There's still the factor of where they would be, who would watch over them," Diana persisted. "I've made all the necessary arrangements. Mount Justice is abandoned and no villains have recently attacked it, and by recently, I mean years." Batman replied instantly, "And I have volunteered to act as their custodian of sorts," Red Tornado added, Wonder Woman narrowed her eyes at the Detective, "Can't help but stay ahead of everyone, can you?"

Batman stared blankly, but the hidden smirk was oh so obvious. "They'll need a trainer. Someone to teach them how to fight and how to act in the covert missions to come." Black Canary reminded, Batman nodded, "I understand that you'll want to volunteer, however you'll be busy for a while for….other work. Any volunteers?"

Maybe it was the prospect of teaching, or the urge to not be bored anymore, it didn't matter much. What mattered was when all the other hands laid on the table, Naruto's hand went in the air, "I'll do it," He declared. There wasn't a major shock, only Batman raised an eyebrow.

"Then it's settled. With Red Tornado and Shadow Fox acting as the custodians, let's begin voting for this new Team to be ratified."

* * *

**Chapter Done!**

**That's a lot of words if I do say so myself! I had to make the Amulet of Aten part a bit more interesting because seriously? One guy wants to block out the sun and that causes a full-League response? Not even the ol cliché of sun-blocking was interesting!**

**So, let's officially open the harem polls, shall we?**

**Harley Quinn: 0 Why: Naruto's funny, she's funny and attached to an abusive boyfriend, why not?**

**Catwoman: 0 Why: Naruto's been working with Batman since Batman started the gig, so who do you think Selina's gonna hit on more? Funny guy or his partner the Stiff?**

**Black Canary: 0 Why: They're both gonna teach the Team, spend lots of time together, the usual….**

**Wonder Woman: 0 Why: I'm bored, and I hate odd numbers**

**Begin your voting process now! Every vote counts! SPOILERS: With enough reviews, I WILL make Naruto and the Team go through Arkham City as well as the movie SON OF BATMAN, and with Talia in love with Naruto, how do you think that'll end?**

**See Ya! MAY THE YOUTH BE WITH YOU, ALWAYS.**


	3. Chapter 3: Let's Begin, Shall We?

**This fic is really getting a lot of reviews, it makes me so happy, I could cry manly tears of joy!**

**So, let's get down to it, shall we? **

**Another exciting chapter of Hero or Assassin!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Tort-Training, Twisters, and Withdrawals**

_Helicopter hovered high above a compound. Kitsune leaned his head out of the air craft to see the home of his target, the only indicator it was there was the bright lights of the house in the night. He glanced at his watch that told him it was five past 10, his target had failed to deliver the package to the Shadows at the designated time, now he had to die._

_The pilot gave the clear sign to the fox Assassin who nodded and leapt out of the copter, he fell downward as the helicopter sped away. Kitsune found freefalling to be a suitable stress reliever for any anxiety he might have left over, but as the saying says: Too much of a good thing is a bad thing, and the ground was getting eerily closer._

_He pulled the chute and landed in some dense bushes just outside the house, it would be safer if he observed his target and strategized before execution. Thermal imaging showed about a dozen guards including one that was operating the security systems, two women very close to the target himself. The way he paced back and forth made Kitsune assume he was talking on the phone, probably trying to find a way to bribe the Shadows or escape. That would only make Kitsune grip his binoculars in anger, the fool thinks he can trick the League and escape?_

_No more planning was needed, he snuck over the defenses and stuck to the cameras' blind spot, Step 1: neutralize the escape route, he made his way to the garage. The man had a collection of cars, some old, and some that were made the day before, none were spared of Kitsune's explosive remote charges. _

_Step 2: Control all the power in the house. While the security remained a problem, Kitsune did take advantage of the near defenseless generators that powered the entire complex that also just so happened to be outside. That was amateur of them._

_Step 3: Silence the secur-"You, don't move!"Kitsune froze at the order of guard who somehow snuck behind him, he'll berate himself about that after he gets back from the mission. "Stand up, nice and slowly." Kitsune obeyed while keeping his hands up in the air to show himself unarmed, he faced forward and waited for something to happen._

"_Control, I've got some type of ninja man doing something outside-" Kitsune spun quickly to slap the gun in one direction and shoving the guard's wrist in another, making the man drop the gun into Kitsune's hands. The guard barely blinked as Kitsune relinquished a bullet in his brains._

_Stealth became obsolete after that loud bang. New Step 3: Make things go boom._

Naruto woke himself up. The loud noises of people, the clattering of glass plates, and the sizzling of greasy American food told him that he was not at his home anymore, one of his favorite cafes in fact, but it wasn't because of the food.

He stared outside the window, it was her bus stop, and she stood right there each day for school. He could not see her face, but he knew it was her from her long blonde hair that was tied in a pony tail, but it was still ragged in some areas.

"What are you staring at?" Naruto turned to see billionaire Bruce Wayne standing in a full black suit with his dark gray hair neatly combed back. Naruto didn't even bother answering the man, "How much is this suit today?" He questioned while staring down at his black coffee. "$580," The billionaire replied, "Heh, I got a $50 that looks just like that at home, you must've been cheated. But I guess that really doesn't matter much to you, you've got other problems."

"I'm concerned about you," Bruce confessed as he sat across the blonde who was paying more attention to the girl leaving on her school bus, "You want to help with the Team, yet you clearly have problems of your own to deal with. Mainly your explosive past." "No, _Naruto Uzumaki_ has those problems. Shadow Fox can multi-task." Naruto reminded his friend.

"However, Naruto Uzumaki is in control of Shadow Fox's actions, you can only go so far with that excuse," Wayne reminded, "You need to pull yourself out of this hole you're in before it affects your judgement in the field." Naruto recognized the implications of Wayne's advice in a heartbeat, he was surprised the billionaire would get that personal.

"…are you suggesting that I talk to Paula? Do you have the _guts_ to say that in my face?" "Listen Naruto, it doesn't have to be for at least 20 minutes-"

_"No, you don't understand!"_

The restaurant got quiet as its occupants stared strangely at the two men, Naruto sighed "Sorry everybody. Enjoy your meal."

He leaned into the table they shared once the café resumed their daily business. "This isn't like the ordinary bad guys who find out my secret identity and try to aim for my loved ones as revenge. Nobody knows Shadow Fox's secret identity, it's somebody who knows _Naruto Uzumaki._"

"Someone knew who I was, where I would be, who I would be with, and that I would be defenseless. That's why I can't see her or the League of Shadows, I can't see anyone until I find this person." Bruce sighed at his friend's logic, "Naruto, I'm convinced now more than ever that you may be overestimating the capabilities of this phantom opponent. It's been years since that incident, for all we know, he could have died and the only way he haunts you is in your dreams." Wayne theorized, Naruto gave a bitter laugh.

"Doesn't sound like you to be an optimist." Wayne nodded "You're right, I don't usually focus on the best case scenarios, but this thing is turning inside out with paranoia, running you rigid. You need to stop festering on it or it'll destroy you."

"You know, you should really take your own advice, your parents have been dead for years," Bruce narrowed his eyes and stared at Naruto exactly like the Bat he disguised himself to be, but the blonde shrugged it off and stood. "You don't have to speak, I know it was a low blow. Bottom line is that I don't question your convictions, so don't you question _mine_."

With that, Naruto left with his hands in his pockets. If it was any consolation, he knew he left Bruce with the bill, but as he stated before, billionaires probably don't worry about that sort of things.

* * *

"_Accessing: Shadow Fox A-02B." _**(Yeah, he and Bats share a designation) **Shadow Fox closed his eyes at the blinding yellow flash of light from the Zeta Tube and opened them to the interior of Mount Justice in Happy Harbor. His clones had done well cleaning the base up of the cob webs and connecting the power and water back to the mountain, it looked as clean as the day it was made.

"Shadow Fox!" He turned to see M'Gann Morzz, otherwise known as Miss Martian, flying in his direction. Despite her green skin, the Martian had integrated herself quite well to the Earth culture and fashion, when she wore a red open buttoned shirt with a white shirt underneath as well as a red skirt, she looked like a genuine earthling, minus the green skin of course.

"Miss M'Gann, you appear quite cheerful today," He commented when she got to him, "Yes, it's because you got a mission for us, right?" "You darn right he does!" Naruto glanced to see the other four members of the new team right behind the Martian, all were wearing their civilian clothes, he also noticed that Superboy was the last to address him, the boy seemed to have a permanent frown on his face.

"You asked Red Tornado already, didn't he tell you that handing out missions was more of Batman's thing?" Shadow Fox questioned, "Yes he did, but we were hoping you would have something for us to handle." Aqualad had replied for the whole team, "Besides, I'm gonna go mad with boredom if we don't get a mission pretty soon," Kid Flash added none-too helpfully.

"Well, as you know, this Team's primary goal was to handle missions that the League cannot publicly address. Such missions like these aren't going to happen everyday, and certainly not in the day-time." "Then Speedy was right! This idea was just something to keep us happy!" Robin exclaimed angrily, Shadow Fox stared at the protégé of his long-time partner. "I shouldn't listen to a word Speedy says about this Team since he isn't on it. These covert missions aren't something we made to give you something to do on your downtime, these are real events that could mean life or death to one or millions. Whatever Speedy has said about this Team is wrong, this Team is necessary to the League, _you _are necessary to the League."

Naruto couldn't tell if they were satisfied with his declaration or not, they all glanced to the sides or folded their arms, M'Gann just gave a timid smile, it was safe to assume that she was alright if there had a mission or didn't have a mission.

'_Sigh, aren't they impatient' _he thought to himself irritably, then got an evil smirk, _'guess the only way to calm em' down is to run them rigid, Naruto Uzumaki style!' _Seeing the shocked look on M'Gann's face told him that she intercepted his thought, he didn't really mind it, but he'd have to make himself a mental footnote to remind her to keep her telepathic abilities on a minimum.

"If there is any consolidation, I'm glad you haven't gotten a mission yet, because your training starts now." He declared. "Training?" Superboy demanded, he finally grew somewhat interested in the discussion, Naruto nodded at the Team, "As your custodian, did you honestly expect I would let you go on covert missions, missions that involve stealth, with little to no experience on those types of situations?" Shadow Fox questioned,

"No, today, we are going to do a little exercise. This exercise will determine if I deem you mission ready or need to be held back until you are ready." Shadow Fox declared with a grin. "What is the purpose of this exercise then?" Aqualad asked in his polite manner. "It's quite simple, all you have to do is-" all the power immediately was cut off in Mount Justice, M'Gann gave a short scream in surprise, Naruto's voice came on the intercoms for all in the Cave to hear.

"_Find me."_

* * *

Robin's small portable light illuminated the darkness, the Team was all huddled together. "Robin, can you explain why all the lights turned out?" Aqualad somewhat commanded as the Boy Wonder tapped on his portable holograms. "I don't know, seems like Shadow Fox had remote control over the entire mountain!"

"Dude, you work with him in Gotham, how bad could he be?" Kid Flash asked with a little bit of worry, he wore his goggles to get a thermal imaging of the hero, but he found nothing at all. Robin shivered as unpleasant thoughts arose, "Think of Batman, only he takes pleasure of what he does,"

"Then we'll tear this place apart piece by piece till we find him." Superboy growled while popping his knuckles, "We can't do that, we live here!" M'Gann protested quickly, Aqualad nodded as he mentally observed the problem before them, "Then our only option is to seek Shadow Fox out the old fashioned way. Splitting up would cover more ground, but staying together would also increase our chances of success."

"I can find him faster!" Kid Flash sped off in the building before anyone could protest, and he quickly became not the only who preferred staying alone. "I can handle myself!" Superboy bounded off into the darkness with nothing but his heightened sense of hearing to guide him.

"I-I could try to hack the systems, get the power back on," Robin suggested to the other two, Aqualad nodded before facing Miss Martian, "perhaps it is best if you keep a mental lookout for Shadow Fox, should he come near." "Yeah, I could do that!" She hastily agree.

* * *

'_He may be like Batman, but he isn't as fast as me. Can't be too hard to find him,' _were the thoughts of Kid Flash as he sped through Mount Justice. There weren't many rooms to the mountain, a living room, kitchen, sparring room, some personal bedrooms, the hangar, that space below the mountain, maybe a power generator room.

He stopped running in super speed to get some better viewing in thermal, but little did he know that his target was far closer than he expected.

"Hey! What the-!?" Someone grabbed his head and pulled him to the ceiling, Kid Flash stared at an upside-down grinning Shadow Fox, maybe he was frowning then. "You assume that I'm a regular human that I need the ground to stand on. First mistake was making assumptions."

Though he was Shadow Fox's hands, Kid Flash nevertheless grin in an irritating manner. "Your first mistake was putting your hands on me!" He began to violently vibrate his body at an incredible rate, not enough to phase through solid objects, because that would be embarrassing when he pulls it off, but to get the molecules in his body really hot.

Shadow Fox hissed at the intense heat and dropped the junior speedster, Kid Flash wasted no time to dash on the walls and eventually the ceiling to land a blow on Shadow Fox, but said hero fell to the ground. The yellow and red speedster ran circles around Fox hero, "Just give it up, SF! No way you can catch me!"

Shadow Fox didn't react, rather he held onto something very thin and sometimes it shone in the darkness, this same thing Fox pulled out and pulled tight. Kid Flash realized what was happening after he barely caught notice that more of it was in his running area. _'Oh crap-'_

Kid Flash tripped on the wire and fell unceremoniously against the cold hard rock wall of Mount Justice, ordinary people would have had a majority of his bones crush at that intensity of a strike, but Kid Flash only moaned for his aching muscles and broken pride.

"You had abandoned your other teammates-particularly the one who knows the most about me- to face an opponent you had no idea where he was, or what he was capable of doing to you or others. If I had been someone like Deathstroke or Lex Luthor, villains who don't monologue for more than a minute at the least, you would've been dead." Shadow Fox instructed as he wrapped up his wire.

"Better luck next time. Now, it's time to deal with one Jolly Green Giant, minus the Jolly and Green part of the mix."

* * *

Superboy searched the mountain with a bit of recklessness, and for a reason. He was a walking tank of mass destruction, a Kryptonian, and Shadow Fox was just a mere man, he was quite confident that whatever the man could dish out he could take and give even more.

Just then, something slid between his legs. He glanced down to see two hands grabbing the back of his knees and pulling hard. Superboy yelled out as he fell to the ground in front of Shadow Fox. "Your Kryptonian half makes you really durable and strong, but even you can be toppled with the right leverage." The super-hero

"Why did you leave your teammates?" He asked while Superboy angrily got himself back on his feet, "I don't need them!" The clone replied rather fiercely, "I can handle you on my own!" He started throwing mad swings at Shadow Fox. Granted, they were laden with more power than a locomotive, but they were wild and random, showing how much Superboy knew what he was doing.

"I don't doubt that you can, given the right circumstances. But you rushed in without knowing what I can do, or if I am stronger than you. Basically, you overestimated your capabilities, and _grossly _underestimated mine."

With that, the room they were in became illuminated by a green light, a small green light, a light that came from the palm of Shadow Fox's hand. Superboy backed away as a weird and very uncomfortable feeling washed over him, it became hard to move, stand, even take a breath. "W-What is..?" "Kryptonite, I assume this is your first time ever coming into contact with it." Shadow Fox replied,

He flipped the Kryptonite shard back and forth from his fingers as he talked, "I honestly don't know how the remnants of Krypton get to Earth from the vastness of space, guess that's one of life's mysteries eh? Consider it a gift that you're exposed to it now and not in the field, that'd suck for you and your Team."

With that, one solid punch to the head knocked Superboy down for the count. Naruto sighed, "They're not used to this sort of stuff, nevertheless, really disappointed with how this exam's going. Guess I'll have to wrap it up now."

* * *

"Miss Martian?" "Still nothing," M'Gann answered Aqualad's unspoken request, the Atlantean felt more and more uncomfortable with the situation as Robin tried to regain control of Mount Justice's power. It had been more than five minutes now, and Shadow Fox had not engaged them yet, surely he knew that they wouldn't have moved blindly in the dark. Then again, both Superboy and Kid Flash had charged with reckless abandon….

"Alright! I got it!" Robin cheered as a green checkmark appeared on his screens, "Then do not waste time, give us control over the mountain again." Aqualad responded, he didn't need to repeat himself. As the lights flashed on, the three got an enlightening experience of how bad their situation is, or was.

"I'm…I'm guessing we lost," Robin assumed in a weak tone, "That's impossible!" M'Gann exclaimed, "I would've noticed _this _many people for certain!" The three were completely surrounded by dozens upon dozens of Shadow Fox clones, all poised to strike at an instant.

"My clones don't have private thoughts." The _real _Naruto made his way through the crowd flanked by two other clones carrying the one unconscious Kryptonian and a sulking speedster.

"To say they think privately would be to say that they think like me, act exactly like how I should act, pose as me. They don't think like me, _they are me._" He instructed, "Their skills are my skills, their reactions are my reactions, their perception is my perception, and vice versa. When I dispel a shadow clone, I don't receive their memories because they aren't capable of making any, I take their _experiences. _My brain does the rest."

"But that isn't the case here, the case is your performance!" He began to pace back and forth in thought, "Honestly, you didn't do very good, but that's what I expected. You guys are new to this kind of thing, but that's going to change after a good week of my All-Star training program."

"W-What Star training program?" Robin wimped, he just _knew _that if it was anything he went through during his training to become Robin… "You five will be trained in the arts of stealth, reconnaissance, and perhaps even espionage." Shadow Fox declared, "I'm not going to lie, bones will be broken, sweat will accumulate in a speed you all will have never thought possible, and when I'm done with you, by God, you will be aching in places you never thought could ache."

"It ain't because I hate you or that I enjoy this (aw, who am I kidding? I'm _really _going to enjoy this), it's purely to prepare you for the possible worst-case scenario in the field."

Shadow Fox grinned as he faced the Team, "Ladies and Gentlemen, as of right now, your tort- I mean training… nah, I'll stick with torture, begins now."

* * *

_Two weeks later….._

"How are the children behaving?" Red Tornado questioned as he exited the Zeta Tube, Shadow Fox gave a savage grin, "Oh, they've by now learned the Pecking order of things around here." Since he had no clue of the basis Batman would be assigning missions, Naruto decided to make the past couple of weeks be devoted to pure mental and physical training.

If they weren't begging for a mission then, they sure were begging for one now, until they found out that begging for missions was only going to earn them more time with Naruto and his training regime. "All jokes aside, I feel like they're ready enough to handle their first mission. It'd be a nice way to measure up their capability."

"And what of Miss Martian's telepathy? Have they taken advantage of that yet?" The android questioned, causing Naruto to flinch just a bit, "Yeah…..that's still a sore subject." The Genomes in Cadmus had left a lasting impression on Superboy, making him and M'Gann barely on talking basis, it was pushing the button to get them to talk alone.

"You should begin working on that. The use of telepathic communication is invaluable to the Team." "Yeah, yeah, I'll get right on that." Naruto dismissed, but then he stared at the main computer in the Cave, "Hey um, Tornado. How often does a lone tornado terrorize the docks Happy Harbor?" "Never." Red Tornado replied as he stared at the phenomenon.

"There are no storms near here according to the weather forecast, this is an unusual occurrence." "I could check it out," Shadow Fox suggested, "I've got nothing to do-" That was the moment Batman decided give Naruto a call, "-or maybe not. Shadow Fox here." "Are you doing anything important?" Bruce Wayne questioned.

"Something had just come up in Happy Harbor-" "I will assign the Team on it, take Batman's case." Red Tornado cut in from the side, Naruto glared at the crimson android, "Does everybody wanna cut me off? Well, I'm surprisingly free now, what's up?"

"There's a case in Gotham. I need you to handle it." "Is it because you're in a meeting, or that Batman shouldn't be out in daylight much?" Naruto questioned, "Both. Deal with it." People were so pushy these days!

* * *

"Alright Jimmy, I'm here. What's up?" Commissioner Jim Gordon turned to spot Shadow Fox passing through the GYPD into the crime scene, "What, Batman didn't want to come?" He questioned "Yeah, says he can't show up during the daytime." Gordon sighed, "We could've used him now, because this is a strange one."

They went down the diseased and filthy alley that was cut off with yellow police tape to the victim. It was a boy, teenager who hadn't been on the streets for a while judging his clothes, but his eyes were blood-shot red, even blood came out of them. His veins appeared deep into the surface of his skin, and was purple, his body was also pale, he'd been dead for an hour or so.

"Not one of the worse things I've seen, but it's still pretty bad." Shadow Fox commented, Jim nodded, "Well, what can you make of it?" The Commissioner probably could have ordered his scientific team to handle it, but their instruments were a tad bit outdated and the mafia in Gotham was never truly dead. It was best to let the professionals handle it.

Naruto wasn't scared to poke and prod the body a bit, even go as far as to take blood samples of the boy of both the blood in his body and on his eyes. "Well, it's a chemical reaction to something for certain. His immune system is out of wack as well as his nerves and muscle tissue, it's showing signs of a drug withdrawal."

"A withdrawal? From what?" Jim questioned, Shadow Fox could only shrug, "Not your regular drugs for certain, this is some heavy stuff. Gonna have to ask the Bat on this." Jim took that as his cue, he cleared police back as to give the hero some space to make a call.

"Hey Bats, I got a dead kid who suffered a withdrawal, can you tell me what?" "Send me the picture and the blood sample results," Batman commanded, Shadow Fox sent them via email and patiently waited for the World's Greatest Detective to go over the information.

"The direct attack on the boy's nerves, particularly in the muscles, as well as his veins reaching the surface could only be one thing: Venom." Bruce theorized

"Venom? The stuff Bane sells? How could he have died from that, they sell Venom everywhere in Gotham." Naruto replied.

"Evidently not anymore which doesn't makes sense. Gotham's one of Bane's top buyers, for him to stop selling Venom there would mean a major hit on his money input."

Shadow Foxstood from the corspe and turned to leave the scene. "Guess that means we got to find out where the stuff is going, and for what."

* * *

**Chapter is Completed!**

**For those of you who haven't guessed, I'm not going to repeat the Team's experiences in their missions, because we've already seen the show and read a bunch of fics for that. This is all Naruto's Point of View, he –along with the League- are going to be the ones who find the clues and plan the places for the Team to investigate.**

**Don't worry, Naruto may join in on a few of the missions as well as he has his own side story as well, the "PHANTOM ASSASSIN" in his past that haunts him so.**

**Just so you know, only I know who it is, and I won't make it easy for you, so guess away!**

**Anyway, on the pairings, I'm only going to choose THE TOP 2. So the numbers are **

**Harley Quinn: 1**

**Catwoman: 4**

**Wonder Woman: 6**

**Black Canary: 4**

**Wow… you guys must really like some Wonder Woman, maybe that'll change soon. Don't forget, IF YOU REVIEW, WHEN I REACH THE SECOND SEASON OF YOUNG JUSTICE, I WILL MAKE NARUTO AND THE TEAM GO THROUGH ARKHAM CITY IN ITS ENTIRITY **

**THANK YOU, MAY THE YOUTH BE WITH YOU, ALWAYS.**


	4. Chapter 4: Arkham Visit and Final Exam

**Hello, the Phantom Penance returns!**

**Just so you know, updates will as of now be weekly instead of daily or bi-daily, due to me going back to school, Ugh!**

**Anyway, enough about me, let's get back to the story of Shadow Fox, shall we?**

**I OWN NOTHING in case you didn't hear me the first time.**

**Chapter 4: Arkham Visit and Final Exam**

* * *

Naruto had been taking regular visits to Arkham Asylum every week and they still hadn't found a way to make faster visiting schedules! It wasn't as if all the city wanted to be even close to the infamous asylum whose reputation takes a dive after each breakout.

He sat on a rugged chair in a bare empty room that was about as filthy as the rest of the asylum (he would know) and checked his watch every five minutes, he'd been doing that six times now. The warden's voice droned on the television about the history of Arkham and how it was beneficial to the city. Now the blonde could sympathize a little bit to the loons for wanting to tear Warden Sharp limb from limb, the man sounded like a drone.

"Mister Uzumaki, she's ready for you now." He glanced upward to see the receptionist assisted by a security guard. Not wishing to waste anymore time, he stood up and followed the man deeper into the asylum that always has a leak somewhere **(basing it off of Arkham Asylum game, dark and leaky)**

"Sooooo…..how long have ya been here?" Naruto asked to break the silence, it was his luck that the security guard felt talkative. "Too long pal, 'bout a month or two. That makes me a veteran in this loony bin, figured I better quit before there's another break out and I get caught in the middle of all these crazies."

"I hear ya. Being stuck in a place like this with _these _people sounds like a nightmare alright." Naruto agreed, the security man glanced back at the blonde before speaking again, "If I'm not getting too nosy, can you tell me why a guy like yourself is even here? There doesn't seem to be anybody here that's worth visiting in my opinion."

Naruto's friendly mood dampened a bit at that statement, "There's somebody here worth visiting," he muttered darkly, the security guard wasn't born yesterday, he knew when he overstayed his welcome. They didn't talk for the duration of the short escort.

Naruto was led into an empty room with a table and two chairs, reinforced glass sliced the room in half, "Your friend will be in here shortly. Probably going through the proper procedure with the labcoats now." The Security man informed him before closing the door.

Naruto sat down in the chair and looked down at the phone before him, there naturally was another one at the other side of the glass. Before supervillains, Arkham policy was like any ordinary asylum where visitors could physically touch the patients, but that wasn't a good idea anymore with nuts like the Joker. Arkham had formed into a darker prison than Blackgate.

The dulled sound of the door opening received Naruto's attention. Three armed security guards and a female psychiatrist entered the room, the woman held onto a clip board and the men trained their firearms on the prisoner, or the patient since it was an asylum.

They all wore gas masks to protect themselves, perhaps from the sleeping agent laced in the ventilation of the room, but it was more likely to protect themselves from the dangerous scent that the patient happened to be giving off.

Who was this patient exactly? A woman with beauty of unequal. Every part of her body was perfection in the eyes of a regular man, her skin, although unnaturally green, was completely devoid of any nasty marks or scars. Her body was perfectly formed in every aspect, her shoulders, arms, chest area in general and specific, her hips, her legs, even her hands and feet were in all manner, perfect.

Her hair was long and a violet color of red, like a small river of blood draping from her head to her lower back, becoming less fluid and more wrinkly on the way down **(I'm basing her off of Arkham Asylum/City as well, they made her less attractive in both New 52 and Arkham Knight)**.

She was perfection in the eyes of the beholder, but Naruto knew her before she was the beauty the world feared but craved in secret. Before she was graceful, Naruto knew her to be clumsy. Before she was deadly, he knew her to be kind and gentle. Before she was Poison Ivy, he knew her as Pamela, or Pam.

She gave a brief glance at the restraints behind her before taking a seat as well and picking up the telephone on her end, Naruto did the same, opening up a line of communication.

"Naruto…" "Hey Pam. Long time, no see," he greeted in a positive attitude, God knows that she needs a little positivity. Pamela Isley smiled softly back at the blonde, it was a rare thing for her to smile and actually mean it. As Poison Ivy, she wouldn't have bothered with all this soft, mushy emotions but the man before her had no interest in what she had become. He came to talk with Pam, and she was available.

"So how has therapy been coming along?" He asked, the woman gave a scowl, hinting very loudly that there was a problem. "I did what you suggested and tried to talk to them, but they don't listen. They keep interrupting me when I'm explaining them the importance of the decrease of plant life on a global level to go back to why I killed those people. The nerve of them! And they call themselves doctors."

"Do like we talked about, tell them you won't answer their question until you are finished with whatever you're talking about. Input is an important part of therapy, at least, that's what the books say." Naruto replied over the phone,

"I've recently been doing some thinking, and I think that they don't want us to leave." Pamela confessed silently into the phone, "Who, the patients? Their job is to rehabilitate the patients Pam-"

"No, their _job_ is to do whatever Warden Sharp says, and Sharpie is going to do whatever is necessary to keep us all in here," Pamela cut in, Naruto narrowed his eyes. Whatever Pamela was telling him, there was a good chance it wasn't all lies, she wouldn't lie to him.

"What do you mean?" Pamela sighed, as if Naruto hadn't have seen the obvious, "You know Sharp's aiming to be the mayor of Gotham, so getting public support is a key part to his campaign. As Warden of Arkham, Gotham doesn't expect him to do his job and rehabilitate all us _psychos, _they want him to keep us all locked in here, contained, so their dear children can sleep safe in their beds. Sharp's taking no chances with us, especially the supervillains, nobody's leaving Arkham while he's warden."

Naruto nodded to her theory, it was something that needed to be discussed in details with Batman himself, "I'll look into it."

"No don't," Pamela pleaded quickly, "I overheard some doctors. They're concerned with the number of visits you make and how you visit me specifically, they suspect I'm using you to get myself out."

"That's something I can easily fix. Don't worry so much, I'll keep visiting you," Naruto reassured before a bell rang. Their time was up. "Listen, just keep trying to prove yourself as a normal citizen and we can hang out in that old tea place, just like old times," he spoke quickly.

She gave a smirk at the suggestion, "or maybe you'll man up and take me out on a date." "Don't push your luck Miss Isley, I hardly know you at all," he teased as they both hung up. Naruto left the room to find another female doctor waiting for him.

She was a head shorter than him with a face of Asian heritage, her hair was dark brown and short, easily tied into a bun. "Mr. Uzumaki? My name is Dr. Penelope Young and I need to speak to you about your visits for a quick second."

"Is this about a notion of Pam controlling me to break her out of jail?" Naruto guessed with his arms folded, Dr. Young nodded, "You see, visits to Arkham patients with a reputation like that of Miss Isley is an oddity in itself. Combine that with her ability to release pheromones that can manipulate people and you can see why we hold some concerns."

Naruto nodded, "I don't see why there's a problem, don't your records show that I had been visiting her since the very day that Batman and Shadow Fox apprehended her?" Young didn't need to find the files to answer that question.

She remembered the day when the tall, dark and menacing Batman dragged in an emerald beauty, and she was there when the man before her showed up two hours afterwards. That was the day when she encountered her first real metahuman (Joker didn't count though he was still the scariest up to date, right next to Zsasz)

"Yes they do, but Warden Sharp has recently been conducting some checks and necessary upgrades to our security, so we have to assume every possibility." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the mere mention of the warden, it seemed like Pam's theory on the man wasn't far from the truth if it wasn't the truth.

"What would need to be done in order to dissuade these notions?" He questioned, Young gave a bright smile at the blonde's easy cooperation. "Nothing too serious! Just an examination by me, though you'll have to come in the afternoon, I'm afraid that's the only time I'm free. You can come in anytime in the afternoon, as long as it is this week. The sooner the process, the more in the clear zone you'll be."

* * *

"I'm not surprised, politicians have always bent the rules in order to gain more publicity in the eyes of the population." The iconic Bat vigilante spoke in his low voice while working on a computer in the Watchtower.

"But that's not beneficial! What if one of the villains actually _want _to change? If everyone wants to keep them locked up, they'll be pushed to breakout, making society believe them to be insane again! It's a stupid circle!"

Batman stopped what he was doing to face his partner, "It is, but that is the way it has to be. The Justice League, and superheroes in general, does not have the power to make those type of decisions, that can only be done by the government. Our job is to make sure said government has the power to enforce its rules."  
Naruto turned his head to stare at the window that shone the darkness of space. It was irritating to be constantly reminded of the limitations that burdened a superhero on a day to day basis, key example would be one agonizing Glorious G. Godfrey. If Naruto was still an assassin, he would've killed that man purely for giggles and a good night's rest.

"Coordinates set, deep-space imaging online," Batman declared as he stared at the giant main screen. The Bat and the Fox stared as the Watchtower imaging gave the two a live satellite image of a certain island.

"It's Santa Prisca alright, notice anything out of the ordinary?" Shadow Fox asked his partner, Batman stared deeply as his high analytical mind picked at the scene before him. "There is smoke rising from the factory, so it is still in function, but boats are in the docks. They're not importing _or _exporting."

"So there's a private buyer, someone who's buying up every last drop of the Venom," Naruto guessed, but Batman shook his head. "Bane would've made certain that at the most 10% of the Venom kept going out into the streets, meaning he may not be calling out the shots anymore."

"So someone's taken over the factory from Bane and from the bottom of their heart, decided to do Bane's dirty work and is making Venom for some private buyer," Naruto guessed, "or for themselves," Batman added.

"This does raise many questions, but we'll need some evidence, not more assumptions. A reconnaissance is necessary," Batman declared, Naruto turned and looked at the Bat, doubting if his ears had heard correctly, "I may be overstepping here, but are you suggesting that-"

"This'll be the Team's first mission out of the states, out of the safety of American law." Batman spoke, "their mission against Mister Twister along with how little the public knew about it tells me that they're ready for this."

"Well I don't think they're ready!" Naruto exclaimed, "they don't even have a field leader yet!" "Who do you think is the leader," Batman questioned, Shadow Fox rubbed his head as he tried to think of which one of the five teenagers radiated with leadership.

"Well, Robin's good….no, he's too immature, not Kid Flash immature, but still immature. Superboy and Miss Martian are no good either, best choice is Aqualad, for sure."

Batman nodded to Naruto's answer. "Then the others will recognize him as leader and follow his command. However, if you're really not certain, give them another test, I believe they love those." Naruto gave a nasty smirk. This was gonna be the test of the ages.

* * *

"Alright cupcakes, listen up! The goal of the game today is to observe in discretion!" Naruto bellowed. Using Miss Martian's trusty Bioship, he led the Team to some deep forest area devoid of any civilization for miles around.

The Team looked fearful of the incoming trial and annoyed of the bug life that was attracted to them, mainly the mosquitos. "By now, the group of clones have joined in a massive group somewhere in this forest. Your job is to find out what they're doing, who's the leader of the group, and how you can tell without being caught."

"When you have discovered this, you will come back to this very spot and tell Kid Flash here who will then proceed to tell me." "Why did I have to be tied to a tree!?" The yellow speedster moaned, his chest area was tied to the base of a massive tree by thick rope.

"Because you failed to complete my last trial," Naruto reminded, "However, there are some obstacles: for one, my clones will be doing chakra pulses to determine who is too close whether they're invisible or not. If you're spotted visually or mentally- I am a good detector of a psychic probing- and captured, you will fail this mission…..along with something else, any questions?"

After receiving no response, Naruto smiled and turned around, "Very well, you have half an hour to complete this _easy _assignment. Begin!"

"_Connection established," _Miss Martian telepathically informed the other three.

"_What are our options?_" Aqualad immediately asked, _"We can make him tell us what they're doing,_" Superboy suggested, always eager for a challenge, _"That's too risky. He's proven that he can kick our butts over and over again, besides, there's the possibility that he doesn't know himself." _Robin replied before glancing upward.

"_Miss Martian, fly above the treeline and see if you can spot anything that seems out of place in a giant foresty area." _The Martian girl nodded and flew upward as commanded till the three on the ground could not see her anymore, _"I see some smoke in the distance. About north? South?"_

"_Which is it, north or south!?" _Robin demanded, _"I-I don't know! What's the Earth word for this direction?" _Came the girl's response. _"Everyone, follow me! I can hear them!" _Superboy growled as he sped off, leaving the other two.

"_Superboy, slow down! We cannot all jump at great distances!" _Aqualad called out

"_I got it!" _Miss Martian assured. Using her telepathy, she carried Robin and Aqualad and sped off in Superboy's direction, Robin gave a sigh, _"Okay, everybody stay whelmed, we can get through this." _Aqualad nodded, _"Agreed, if we can relax and focus as a proper Team, we can handle anything that Shadow Fox can throw at us."_

"_I've found them! They're-" _Something or someone cut Superboy off, making the Team automatically fear the worse, "_Superboy, status! Are you alright?" _Aqualad demanded, _"You've got to be kidding me," _came the reply of the clone.

* * *

The lagging part of the Team cleared a thick part of the forest where they found Superboy, and all the Naruto clones, one brief look, and they were subjected to the horrors of their mentor.

The mountains grew white with the dense blizzard that blew across them, only the incredibly brave and foolish would dare to travel up them during such a tempest. Nevertheless, two climbers braved the intense cold, both were deeply clothed in anything that could cover their body.

The leader had climbed the mountains several times in her lifetime, she came back from every one of them stronger and tougher than ever before, it became her own personal rite of survival and now she was giving it to someone else.

Her companion was also female, but it was a little girl, her entire frame did not go past the leader's leg, and she was struggling up the climb as expected. The girl's pack did not have as much weight as her guide, but the icy tempest they traveled in made up for that.

Only the incredibly brave and foolish would travel up that mountain, and both of them were neither. The guide was the teacher, teaching her pupil, her legacy, and that said pupil did not believe in failure, besides, the reward in the long run would be worth the climb.

* * *

"_Somebody tell me what I'm looking at."_

"_I think it's what Earth calls, 'the Chicken Dance.'"_

Of all the things that Naruto could surprise them with, it was about a dozen of grown men preforming the Chicken Dance in perfect synchronization with the song.

Words could not properly describe what the emotions the Team was feeling. Embarrassment? Confusion? Anger even? Who knew?

"_Don't get too close," _Robin warned, _"We still need to find the so-called leader of this rodeo, find anybody that sticks out." _ _"Umm, how would we know who sticks out?" _Miss Martian asked in confusion, making Robin groan, _"Knowing Shadow Fox, it'd be the one doing the Worm or something." "The worm? So he'd be underground?"_

They floated around the gathering a few feet away, silently and hoping that none of the Team somehow gets into Shadow Fox's chakra pulse range. Yet no matter how hard they looked or how careful they were, they couldn't find a single clone doing something out of the ordinary.

"_This is getting annoying!" _Superboy growled mentally, easily losing his patience, Miss Martian nodded wearily, _"I have to side with Superboy on this one, plus the music is getting on my nerves."_

"_Wait, music!?" _ Robin ran back to the dance in excitement, true enough, there was only one Naruto playing the bagpipe like a professional. _"Guys! I found the leader! He's the one making the music, the one leading on the dance!"_

Aqualad nodded in relief, _"Good, we have about ten minutes on the clock, we should get back to Kid Flash and Shadow Fox to pass this test with flying colors." _

Little did they know, Robin had gotten too close to the clones, causing one of them to stop dancing. He stared at the Team then gave a loud noise akin to that of the crow of a rooster.

"_Not good, run!" _Instead of following the advice of his friends, Superboy gave a primal roar and rushed the clones. With his super strength, he punched one into a cloud.

"_SB, what are you doing!? The goal is not to get captured!" _Robin mentally yelled out, but Aqualad unleashed his water swords, _"No, Superboy has a good idea. Distract the clones, giving Miss Martian the opportunity she needs to escape," _

"_What? Why me?" _The green-skinned girl questioned, _"You are the only one fast enough without Kid Flash. Time is against us, you must go!" _Without another word except a lingering glance, Miss Martian sped off cloaked. Robin twirled his eskrima sticks and joined the other two in the fight.

The clones were no longer their goofy selves as earlier, but rather clones of the Shadow Fox, one of the world's greatest fighters if not the best. Making punching and slashing them to inexistence much harder than earlier intensions.

As two clones threw Superboy against a tree, Miss Martian searched for the thoughts of Kid Flash. They weren't hard, usually on the train of food, science, and beautiful women. _"Wally!" "W-Whoa! Is that an angel I hear?"_

"_No time! Quick! Clones were doing a chicken dance-" "Chicken what?" _Robin _was_ right, Wally was fast on his feet, but not with his mouth, and apparently his mind as well.

"_Chicken dance! With the leader playing a bag-thingy!" "Bagpipe?" "Yeah, that! Tell him, quick!" _Miss Martian urged before something quickly grabbed her foot and threw her to the earth.

Her eyes glowed green and sent the clone spiraling into the treetops where it hit something and exploded into smoke.

"ANNNDD GAME OVER!" Shadow Fox loudly declared, he sliced away Kid Flash's bonds. He stood before Miss Martian who sat on the ground, "Well played, thought there was some problems. I'll discuss it when the others arri-"

At that moment, the other three Team members were tossed to the ground on their backs. "Now that we're all here, let's discuss your performance!" Naruto declared.

"Superboy, your hastiness and little disregard for your members is very dangerous for this line of work. You may be durable, but your comrades aren't. You need to reign in your temper focus." The clone only growled in anger, proving he didn't really listen.

"Aqualad, you kept your head in the game really well, but you're too gentle. Your advice was sound enough, but that was all it was: advice. You allowed your comrades do whatever they were comfortable with rather than what needed to be done. However, you made up with that by effectively working with what you had."

The Atlantean nodded at the advice, it was something he would have to work on as well as another reason he may not be cut out for leadership.

"Wait, you were watching us the whole time?" Robin asked in disbelief, Shadow Fox grinned, "Yeah, and now we move onto you. As expected, you utilized your analytical mind to find the hidden meaning, the underneath the underneath. However, you got sloppy and made assumptions in your hastiness, you'll need to stop doing that in the future."

Shadow Fox faced M'Gann who stared shyly in the ground, "I'm going to say the obvious: you don't know a whole lot about Earth and our language yet, and that won't be held against you. However, you are impulsive when it comes to helping out, your eagerness to be useful can and will get you into situations where you may or may not be capable of handling."

After talking to her, he faced Kid Flash, "What?" The boy asked, Naruto sighed, "there are _so_ many things wrong with you, I'd be here all day naming them." "Hey! I resent that!"

"Despite your problems, you all –minus Kid Flash- worked together to pass my test, and pass you did. Which is good, otherwise I'd have to go to Santa Prisca."

"Santa What-now?" Kid Flash asked dumbly, Shadow Fox grinned, "I won't say, the details are in the briefing you're gonna get from Batman." The Team all widened their eyes and stared back and forth at each other at the implications of what Shadow Fox had said.

Naruto laughed, "That's right, your first mission, aside from that Twister incident that you all thought was fake. Let's get on the Bioship, if you hurry and shower into fresh clothes, Batman may not be in such a bad mood today."

* * *

**Chapter Completed!**

**Yay me! This has been a real pain of a chapter to complete, let me tell you. So that little bit with the mountain, it feels out of place a bit, and that's how I like it, who can guess who the two are? You may or may not get it right**

**Next chapter, we get a bit into Naruto's mysterious past with Dr. Young, some mystery in Gotham City, and the Awe-Inspiring Full League Battle with the Amazo!  
Pairing Poll:**

**Wonder Woman: 13**

**Catwoman: 15**

**Black Canary: 17**

**Harley Quinn: 9**

**Seems that Black Canary and Catwoman are in the lead. Just as a reminder, these are the only four women I'm allowing, so sorry for all the ones who suggested Killer Frost or Raven (not sure with Killer Frost, the word "killer" is in her name for a reason). Also, Talia, Poison Ivy, and Paula Crock are givens in this fanfic, meaning already in stone.**

**Anyway, the next time I write another chapter, the two females with the highest votes will win, so you all better review and get fellow people to review along with you.**

**MAY THE YOUTH BE WITH YOU, ALWAYS**


	5. CHP 5 AN: SETBACK! MUST SEE!

**Hello guys, the Phantom is back!**

**This sadly isn't a new chapter, rather some news.**

**I had plans on finishing the new chapter by Sunday, but that won't be possible due to the school tests coming next week.**

**I will be devoting most of my time prepaparing for such tests because I have AP classes and I'm freaking out at the college level questions that await me in due time.**

**NEVERTHELESS, I will post the new chapter by Friday of next week, and IT WILL BE GLORIOUS.**

**That means I will give you all an one week deadline to cast in your final votes by the poll I will be setting up tonight! You got four choices: Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Black Canary, or Catwoman.**

**You can choose two. When next Friday comes, check this AN and it will be replaced by a chapter with our final girls being in the lot !**

**If not by Friday, Sunday is the latest.**

**REMEMBER, you can also send reviews or PM me your choices if you you PM and ask me about what's going to happen in the future-near or far- I may tell you because I feel touched by PM.**

**ALSO, if I don't respond immediately to such PM, I may be out of my home for a while (two-three hours) and I'll respond once I get back.**

**Thank you fans, you're awesome!**

**MAY THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BE WITH YOU ALWAYS**


	6. Chapter 6: We all go a little mad

**Hey guys, the Phantom Penance has returned!**

**It's been a bit, due to all the testing, I've been feeling really drained of energy and devotion to the simple task of moving my body, but I'm determined to entertain you all!**

**Monday's my birthday by the way, and you all know what I'm gonna do by then: watch Age of Ultron!**

**Anyway, enough of Marvel for the moment, let's get some DC up in here! **

**I've closed the polls and checked the votes, it was a close one, but Wonderwoman and Black Canary came out on top with Catwoman at third place, I was really looking forward to her winning.**

**But enough of my personal thoughts, let's get on with the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: We all go a little mad sometimes**

"_Stop right there!"_

_Shadow Fox and Batman spent the long Gotham night chasing one madman with a girl in his clutches, but the chase finally came to an end when the lunatic took one wrong turn in the old Gotham maze._

"_Give it up. You can't escape, we are sending you back to Arkham where you belong." Batman declared, Shadow Fox nodded along while fingering a shuriken. A lone light from above shined down on the two heroes and the one bald man._

_A bald man with many, many, many scars on his back._

"_Back to Arkham, away from all the fat little piggies? Never!" Insanity was laced in the growl of the patient, showing how little of his humanity had remained throughout the years of medication and a dozen imaginary voices screaming in his fractured mind._

_There was no human left, only a killer. Only Zsasz._

_The killer glanced down at the girl in his arms, she trembled at his touch, tears was coming out of her eyes, but he didn't focus on that. This girl….this piggy….needed to be gutted, right now._

"_I suppose….one more little piggy before my fun is ruined…" he mumbled with twisted insanity,_

"_No! Don't!"_

Naruto remembered that night as clear as day. He currently was standing in the alley from whence the events unfolded, he was obsessed with going there, like Bruce's relationship with Crime Alley.

The girl was barely eligible to learn how to drive, probably just left Middle school, maybe she still had dreams of being some sort of doctor or an actress, but they were dashed with the edge of the knife as well as the lack of supply for a rare blood type.

Naruto compromised that day. Whatever unspoken rule there was to being a hero, he deviated from it, he was so mad, his eyes turned crimson.

He knew how fond Zsasz was to cutting his own flesh as a way to remember each and every kill he's made in his life, so Naruto gave Zsasz a cut worthy for the girl. The man really spilled his guts.

Bruce didn't talk about it for a week even though he knew how important the "no-killing" rule was to him, but Naruto had no qualms about what he did, if he had the power, he'd have killed Zsasz way earlier.

The League had always spoke about not killing so they wouldn't stoop down their level, but Naruto was from that level, and he wasn't the only one.

Wonderwoman trained her entire life to be a powerful and deadly warrior, John Stewart and Barry were both law enforcement, Hawkwoman came from a warrior planet, even Red Tornado was designed by a villain to infiltrate the League and destroy it.

They had to understand what Naruto was going through, spending the most of your life (well, what little he remembered) becoming something only to end up shunning that part of you for eternity. It…was a struggle, and it was not becoming any easier as the days rolled on.

The more he fought as a hero, the more villains he ran into, and as he stared into their black hearts filled with evil intentions, it was hard not indulging the thought that the whole world would benefit their death.

The watch on his hand started beeping, it was a reminder that he had an appointment with Dr. Young today and for the sake of Pam's sanity, he'd better not miss it.

"Come on in. Sorry it's a little messy, not one for constant cleaning." Dr. Young spoke as Naruto glanced around at the moderate size office. She was right, it _was _messy. They were papers on tables, papers on storage bins, papers in cabinets, just papers everywhere.

Naruto sat down in a metal chair across a polished wooden desk and its owner who placed down a file, a window of Gotham's rising sun provided great lighting.

"You rely on sunlight?" Naruto questioned,

"It's not encouraged to use additional electricity," Young explained. "In case we made need it for security, Arkham doesn't get much funding, which is sad since it holds most of the nutcases in the world."

"Something your fair Warden Sharp hopes to change if he becomes mayor?" Naruto asked lightly, Young sighed.

"I sure hope so. Anyway, we're ready to begin whenever you're ready."

"Tape recording?" Naruto questioned as he stared at the little device in the woman's hands,

"Just to keep things as official as possible." She explained. There could be more to it, but it would come off as suspicious if Naruto started to ask oddly specific questions, so he just nodded.

The psychiatrist opened her small file that revealed several photos, all pertaining to the Femme Fatale that was Poison Ivy, whether it was her vines, her victims, or herself.

"Mr. Naruto Uzumaki, I would like you to tell me how you met patient Pamela Isley and what level of friendship you share with her."

Naruto placed his elbows on his knees in thought, that day felt like an eternity ago, but strangely he remembered it like it was yesterday.

"We met- no, it was more like we ran into each other….."

_It was a fresh start for Naruto, a new life away from the League of Shadows to venture into the world. If Ra's held plans for him to destroy the world, then he should at least get to know it, understand why it was so terrible. _

_Gotham City was his starting point, it was considered to be one of the worst cities in America if not the world, there was a League outpost should Naruto ever need anything, and besides, an old friend lived here. She could show him the ropes of the place instead of him spending weeks tripping on his toes._

_Naruto was wearing baggy pants and a buttoned up black jacket as well as carrying a backpack in one hand and his suitcase in another. The loose clothing as well as the suitcase all carried his personal gear and equipment in case he ever went into mercenary work, he was regarded the best assassin in the world._

_Assassin or not, it could never had prepared him for the rush of Gotham. People practically ran right past him without any regard to the other people they passed, did they even notice their existence? Constant movement of so many people was bad for somebody of Naruto's caliber, he'd be too busy checking them all to watch where he's-_

"_Watch out!"_

_The blonde practically face slammed into another person and both fell to the ground, their performance earned them a quick glance from a few civilians, but they went back to their fast paced lives._

_Naruto quickly checked his luggage to find that nothing had fallen out, much to his relief, then he decided to help the person he knocked over. One look at her had froze any words that planned to leave his mouth._

_It was a woman. She had a nice face, it was a little dirty and she was currently readjusting her glasses, the lab coat she wore gave off the idea that she was some type of scientist, but that wasn't the point._

_The point was that she had red hair. Actual red hair. Naruto didn't know why, but he paid very close attention to the hair._

_She glanced back at him very briefly, muttered her apologies, and left in a hustle, leaving him to stare as she passed on by._

"So you met purely by coincidence?" Young surmised audibly, Naruto nodded.

"Yeah. It wasn't a week later that we knocked over each other again, but this time, I wasn't gonna let her go. It was the hair, there was something…..something strange about that hair, like I held red hair in a high regard." He explained,

Dr. Young nodded as she wrote down on a pad: _attraction to redheads, _was it strange that she felt a little disappointed at the fact?

"So this wasn't the last time you met."

"Obviously not, this time, I spilled her tea," he replied. "I seized my opportunity to apologize and offer to buy her more. She was such the timid girl back then, made excuses that it was an expensive tea and that she got it from a store across town, but I wasn't listening."

"Anyway, I took her to the store and we sat down and talked over tea. Found out she was a botanist there, and also that she was underappreciated, but she didn't mind at all. Plants were her passion, she loved them from the bottom of her heart, and she was willing to sacrifice her personal wants to be with them."

"So her infatuation with plants was there long before her accident," Dr. Young theorized, her theory proved right with the blonde's nod.

"I was the first person to see her like this, ya know. It was late and I was about to turn in for the night until I heard some knocking on my door. I answered wondering who would have the balls to keep me away from my sleep, only to see a…..completely new woman at my doorstep. Imagine my shock!" He spoke in a somewhat joking manner.

The woman urged him on while she wrote some things down in her notes, "Well...despite her obvious changes, she still talked like ol' Pam, and she needed help, so I helped her. Been doing that ever since." He concluded in a small proud manner.

Dr. Young nodded as she stopped the tape recording, "Alright, we'll have to end it for now, I have more duties to attend."

"So am I clear?" Naruto asked eagerly as the woman packed her stuff up.

Penelope Young could only shrug, "I believe you, but the Warden may not be as convinced. We'll have to continue this until I feel like you're in the clear zone, until then, feel free to keep visiting Miss Isley as much as you can. I get a feeling that you're the reason she's more cooperative than our other patients here."

* * *

Naruto had plans of spending the rest of his afternoon just relaxing the night away, but when he received the full League alert, Shadow Fox took control of the rest of his evening.

"Am I really at the right place?" Naruto questioned as he studied the given coordinates. He was stranded in the middle of a train yard with no signs of human life for miles, much less a struggle.

"AGH!"

Naruto looked up to see the descending form of Giovanni Zatara, recognized magic user of the League, falling to the earth.

"I gotcha!" Naruto yelled as he leapt onto a train then caught the sorcerer out of the air, he appeared not mortally wounded, but very bruised as well as weary.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked quickly, in case the man decided to lose consciousness.

"Robot," Zatara gasped. The blonde looked up to a massive man with orange skin land a solid blow on Superman who grunted as he was launched several feet away.

This creature wore no shirt to hide its literally chiseled abs, but rather had pants that were a tad shadier than normal green. Its face was void of any emotions and its eyes were black and red, it also had short hair that was also orange as well as pointy ears.

Despite its distracting appearance, Shadow Fox knew this villain quite well, it was a nuisance to the League-especially to Naruto for some strange reason-for its ability to copy the abilities of anybody it glances. It was a dangerous robot, unique to the world like its insane creator who was dead, but somehow it was rebuilt.

The Amazing Amazo had been brought back to life.

"Somebody call the North Pole because one of Santa's little helpers is naughty this year," Shadow Fox spoke as he pulled out his sword. Punches would not be needed to hold back for the fight he was about to be in.

"I already said that!" The voice of Flash called out as he sped past the blonde.

"Always stealing my jokes!" Naruto yelled out. Green Lantern (John Stewart) flew above the robot and constructed a massive hammer, he held it upward before swinging it down on Amazo with a mighty yell.

"**Access: Martian Manhunter." **Amazo spoke in a computerized voice before phasing out of the physical plane, allowing the massive green hammer to pass harmlessly through Amazo's body. The robot phased back and struck the Lantern into a train car before phasing out again to dodge the combined attacks of the Hawks (Hawkman and Hawkgirl)

"**Access: Captain Atom." **Both of the Thanagarians cried out as the cosmic rays struck them to the earth. Amazo copied Martian Manhunter again so that Captain Marvel could run straight into Wonderwoman.

"Alright you big elf, eat some of this!" Green Arrow yelled while firing three explosive arrows. Amazo didn't even move as the projectiles found their mark and exploded on its body, and when the dust settled, the android was as intact as the moment the arrows ever left Ollie's quiver.

"I think you annoyed it," Black Canary stated once she caught up with the two,

"How would you know!?" Green Arrow demanded defensively,

"You're you. You annoy everyone." Came the reply of the female blonde. The robot glanced downward at the grounded heroes as its red eyes started to glow a more violent crimson.

"**Access: Superman." **Immediately, red laser beams shot out of the robot and to the heroes.

"Argh!"

"Dinah!" Green Arrow yelled out in concern. She narrowly missed a fatal shot of laser beams and opted getting grazed in her left arm, but the heat beam onslaught wasn't going to stop with that. Shadow Fox ducked a beam meant for his head and scooped Canary up before running out of the open field. Naruto hissed as the beams struck him in the back.

"I can move myself!" Black Canary insisted once they got to the other side of a rail car.

"You got hit," Shadow Fox hastily defended himself while offering her a bandage,

"So did you!"

"But I heal fast."

Superman returned to the fight and rushed Amazo from behind, slamming the robot down to the ground. Amazo reacted to throwing the Man of Steel into a train and promptly blowing the train up with heat vision.

"We really need a plan!" Shadow Fox exclaimed once he finally found Batman attending the unconscious Martian Manhunter. He multitasked that along with theorizing a plan to deal with Amazo while the others attempted to deal with the machineby brute force.

"Hand-to-hand combat isn't effective, not when he could faze through an attack or dodge it with the Flash's speed." Batman replied to his partner as Hawkman collided with the side of a railcar followed by Hawkgirl, making them both go through the car.

Superman had returned with a whole train of his own. He threw it down on the robot who didn't even dodge it, the train screamed with bending metal and broken wood as it toppled to the ground. It was quite for a mere moment when two dots appeared on the side of the train.

Amazo's heat vision shot all the way through the train and struck the Kryptonian, knocking him out of the sky.

Shadow Fox cringed as his burning back sizzled, a sign that the healing process had begun. "As we know well enough, pure muscle strength isn't gonna cut it and speed probably is just as effective."

At that moment, Flash promptly was skipped onto the ground right beside the two, Shadow Fox continued, "Energy, not helpful, but what about magic-?" His question was immediately answered in the form of Captain Marvel actually getting his head stuck into the dirt.

"I've got an EMP arrow," Green Arrow held up his arrow that was dark blue at the tip, trying to be helpful.

Batman shook his head, "His skin is too tough and he could phase right through you."

Shadow Fox narrowed his eyes as a plan began to formulate in his mind, "I've got an idea!" He exclaimed while snatching the arrow.

Amazo pounded Wonderwoman into the ground, then looked up to see a mob of Shadow Foxes rushing him. Living energy began to build in its hands as it spoke again in its mechanical voice.

"**Access: Captain Atom." **A massive burst of yellow energy shot the clones away with such a force that they all puffed into nothingness. The robot identified the original fox-themed hero and made a step to move towards him, until the ground underneath it cracked.

Amazo looked down only to see a fist connect to its chin, the Shadow Fox clone dispelled after its victorious strike against the machine, only for another clone to pop up above the robot while it was off the ground.

Synthetic red eyes stare upward at the hero who held an arrow in one hand and a violently rotating blue sphere in the other.

"Hasta la Vista baby! RASENGAN!" Naruto yelled out as he drove the sphere of energy deep into Amazo's stomach, its rotation began to grind away Amazo's tough exterior.

Naruto knew what rasengan meant but he didn't know how he learned the move or why he even bothered to say it out loud. It was one of those things that stuck to him in the very beginning, even before the League of Shadows.

Amazo's yellow skin tore away to reveal black and blue mechanical parts, unhesitating, Naruto drove the arrow into the android's center.

He backed away as the robot convulsed and sparks cackled all over it until the Amazo robot was finally still, hopefully forever.

"Quickly, dismantle it!" Batman ordered as he rushed the robot.

"Bats, that thing is fried," Flash pointed out as he limped to the robot, he was sporting a broken leg, but it was nothing a few hours of rest and a large, hearty meal couldn't fix.

"Take no chances," The bat replied as he removed the head, the first thing that had to go.

Shadow Fox sighed in embarrassment at his partner's paranoid notions, "I really hope that Robin doesn't take after you when he grows up."

Eventually, a pile of body parts were all that remained of the League's victory, "Guess that deals with this problem," Superman declared while rubbing his arm in a soothing manner. He may be the strongest man on Earth, but that didn't mean he was exempt from pain.

"Not at all, we still have to figure out who made it, and why." Batman reminded as he scoured the Amazo's memory chip for anything of use, as he expected, he found nothing.

"Well, we've got a whole team of scientists waiting to take a good long look at it in STAR Labs," Flash reminded, Green Lantern was gracious enough to provide the speedster a temporary cast construct for his leg.

Wonderwoman nodded at the advice, "We should take it to the Hall first, preform a thorough examination of anything suspicious inside the robot before taking it into STAR Labs."

"Agreed. I'll arrange convoys to take Amazo piece by piece, lowering the chances of someone seeking to reclaim it. Perhaps I'll add a few fake convoys to draw them off," Batman added.

"You really think somebody's gonna come back for this hunk of metal?" Green Lantern questioned the World's Greatest Detective who stared back at the man.

"When in doubt, there is no doubt," came the stoic reply.

Naruto turned around to see Black Canary, her arm was attended, but her jacket was a little torn at the side.

"Do you need to see any medical attention? You got hit in the back," she asked,

Naruto grinned, "Nah, I'm already all healed. See?" He turned around and pointed at the hole in his uniform, burned away by Amazo's heat vision, to show tan skin that was a little red, but it was fine.

The heroine nodded to her fellow blonde, "By the way, I had plans of meeting the Team today and giving them a short lesson, do you want to come with me?"

"You sure you still want to do that? Your arm looks like it really hurts," Naruto pointed out, he could see the lingering redness her wound had left.

"It won't bother me, I've fought under worse circumstances," she assured before throwing a smirk, "besides, it may give them a chance against me."

Naruto chuckled, "Fine by me then. They're a little rough around the edges, but I'm sure you'll fall in love with M'Gann, she'll be the sweetest thing you've ever met."

* * *

_In Gotham…_

A lone man opened the wooden door to a room darkened by the shadows and dimly lit by blood red candles. The room was medium sized, but it felt small compared to the number of men inside it, all chanting in some archaic language.

These men were anonymous under their cloaks of crimson red, but they circled the fresh carcass of a young girl, about the age of a teenager, with her chest ripped open wide.

"You called for me?" The man asked in a deep voice, it was old and gravely, but it still held the sharpness of a sword to it.

"We require another totem, in the name of Kane!" The leader priest screeched out,

The lone man scoffed as he pulled out a cigar. "Whatever you need," he left that room and all the lunatics inside to do their dirty business.

The man didn't like working with lunatics, there were obsessed with the most obscene things and were just as unpredictable as the beings they worshiped, but these guys paid good and they were necessary.

They were lunatics for certain, but they were also lunatics with connections, connections that a man of his stature would be a fool to turn away from. Once he had those connections, he would see to it that these cultists would vanish from the earth as punishment for wasting his time.

Like his profession, their deaths weren't personal (maybe a little), strictly business. Time was a valuable thing to an assassin and they had taken 20 years of his time, that was an offense to his pride.

After 20 years of working for the worst, he was finally getting noticed by the higher ups, the ones who run Gotham now. Once he's gotten all cozy with them, he'll finally be on track to his main goal:

Being the undisputed greatest assassin in the world, and no retired turncoat was gonna be able to stop him.

* * *

**Chapter Completed!**

**So I was a day off! My grandfather (from Chicago) had decided to stop by, and he's an old-fashioned fellow, I had to talk to him ever since I got home from school, then we went out to eat, and then I was freaking tired.**

**Anyway, how'd you like that fight with Amazo!? Pretty cool, I had some trouble balancing out the roles of Naruto as well as the League against Amazo, I don't like heroes getting hit once by the enemy then suddenly unable to get up anymore.**

**The undisputed women of Naruto's harem is Black Canary and Wonderwoman! I was personally rooting for Black Canary and Catwoman, but I'm flexible.**

**Anyway, any guesses onto what assassin was that at the end? I guarantee you won't be able to get it right!**

**Anyway, Up Next! League Assassins! Cheshire knows the Truth! Catching up with old flames!**

**ALSO: I'm making a new poll later on today, you might wanna check it out.**


	7. Chapter 7: Ghosts of Lifetimes Past

**Hey everybody, The Phantom Penance is back!**

**Sorry for the small haitus, but it was the last month of school, so it was an important part of my time, but now that it's summer again, I'll be much more frequent with updates.**

**Let's see, where did we leave off? Right, the Amazo fight.**

**Chapter 7: Ghost of Lifetime Pasts**

* * *

Patience was a virtue as the old saying goes. As the master of the largest assassination organization that promoted world prosperity that the world has ever seen, the Head of the Demon was above all, a patient man. But he had lived for several generations throughout the Lazarus Pits, the very thing that gives him insanity as well as life, in search for a proper heir to continue his work. Now that he had finally found one, his patience was at an end.

It was already on the abyss after the failure of the Detective, but his true heir had made a simple request of the Demon, one he saw no reason to deny. The heir wanted to go on a pilgrimage of sorts, to see the world for what it was and not for what it was portrayed to be, to see the known age for all its beauty and corruption before he destroys it.

The man gave an oath that he would return when his curiosity was satisfied, and the Demon knew well of the heir's determination to live by his promises, but the years rolled on and he had not returned.

It was to be expected that Ra's would check up on his legacy.

"Father?"

The brief knock on his grand door followed by its closing and the sound of woman was proof enough to Ra's that his only child, his precious daughter, had answered his summons, but not before freshening up from a hard day of practice.

"Talia, I have something that you must do personally." He told his daughter in a way that was not very explanatory at all.

"Does it pertain to the Serling woman father? I have already called out our assassins to deal with her." She replied, but the Head of the Demon waved his hand to dissuade her assumption. He faced the balcony of his private study which over looked an entire sea that was as troubled as his own mind.

"Entertaining our….business associates will leave me quite busy for the following days to come, too busy to check on my more important matters. I want you to travel to the States and find my heir, make sure he hasn't folded to the blind lines of so-called 'justice' that the Detective is so adamant of following."

Talia remained impassive to the task handed by her, but that betrayed her inward emotions. Was she giddy to see her beloved again? Hardly, the Daughter of the Demon is _never _giddy. More like fearful. Talia could see herself living with Uzumaki as the rulers of the Shadows and she imagined that she would like it, if they still saw the world the same way.

Talia's devotion to Ra's was backed powerfully by spending many years watching her father grieve over the loss of the mother she never got the privilege of knowing. A harsh society deemed that it would rather die than watch an unknown man ask the hand of a princess in marriage, or rather, kill the princess under acts of treason.

This injustice drove Ra's and motivated Talia to burn the known world down before letting it do the same to her future children, and if Naruto refused to help her with that, than she feared she may never marry.

The future of the League of Shadows laid on the line now, one piece was a superhero and the other on a plane to Happy Harbor. The next few hours was the deciding factor, but already in Talia's mind, she would choose what was best for the League no matter what.

* * *

"Well, I've checked the metal grafting in Amazo, also adding what the Team had went through recently, this android is definitely the work of Dr. Ivo." Ray Palmer, the Atom, had declared after he regrew back to his original size.

"So it's been confirmed that he is still alive?" Wonder Woman questioned as she-one of many heroes- stood before the dismantled remains of the Amazing Amazo, or what was left of it.

Batman nodded, "Alive and still at large. It's one of the League's top priorities to find and apprehend him, making this Amazo android useless now that we know who made it."

"Probably should keep the head," Shadow Fox had advised, "I don't know if I'm the only one, but I'm personally sick of something copying abilities without knowing how. We should study it, see how Ivo does it, and find some ways to counteract it."

"I've already thought of that," Batman replied. Naruto glared at him, he just knew that the Dark Knight was smirking inside of his mind.

Diana nodded, "I'll go inform the League what's going on. Batman, do you want to accompany me to the Watchtower? It'd be simpler if we go together."

"No, I'm heading back to Gotham, there's a string of murder cases that need my help." Batman replied as he left S.T.A.R. Labs. Naruto turned to leave as well, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught something very strange, Wonder Woman was frowning and not in her usual manner, but like she was disappointed with something.

"Hey Diana, save the Zeta for me as well. I'm heading off to the Watchtower as well." He instantly declared, his declaration surprised the Amazon warrior for a little bit since they didn't technically have a social interaction.

"I would have thought that you wanted to go back to the Cave, but if you insist…"

Naruto flashed one of his bright smiles that didn't shine through his mask, but he got the feeling that she saw it nevertheless. The two said nothing at the Zeta Tube in the Labs, but after the flash of light that revealed an empty hall of the secret orbiting satellite, then Shadow Fox decided to corner Wonder Woman

"Alright, spill the sweet stuff. What's going on between you and Bruce?"

Diana blinked at the blonde's brashness, "Excuse me?"

"There's something going on between you two and I want to know, are you breaking up or something?" He pushed, making the solid warrior a bit tense now.

"Breaking…no! Nothing like that! Far from it actually."

"So it's a lover spat then," Naruto declared with some satisfaction until Diana began to stare at him with clear signs of irritation.

"We're. Not. Together."

Naruto blinked twice, "Really? Wow, we all thought-we the League-that you two would hook up or somethin' after the Darkseid ordeal. So what is going on?"

Wonder Woman sighed, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get some advice." She stared outside the Watchtower (by the way, every window in the satellite somehow has a view of Earth, must investigate later) before she said anything.

"As you've guessed it, I do harbor some sort of feelings for Bruce, and after all we've been through as a League, can anyone blame me? However, he's made very clear that he isn't going to pursue a relationship of any sort."

'_That may not be true, there's a sexy cat burglar waiting for him in Gotham, best if I keep that to myself' _The Uzumaki thought privately.

Diana broke through her normal stoic composure to a brief moment of aggravation and rage. "His reasoning his annoying! Demeaning of me! 'I can't let anybody get close to me or my enemies will exploit them.' I am a warrior! I can protect myself, does he not see that!?"

The conversation had shifted to uneasy grounds for Naruto who had suffered already in an identical fashion, another thing he had best keep to himself.

"So you have no idea how to get his attention besides his work which he has devoted to distancing himself from possible relationships, meaning you." Naruto had essentially theorized while rubbing the bottom of his chin, an annoying habit he got from the Detective himself.

"I believe the common term for me is 'wrecked.'" Diana agreed in a small tone of frustration.

"Yeah…we'll go with that. Anyway, you're lucky that you came to me for help because I know exactly what your problem is!" Naruto loudly exclaimed in a cocky manner.

Wonder Woman stared at the blonde. "More like you cornered me, literally, but do continue."

"The answer is simple, you don't know Batman enough to know what his personal preferences are, and you probably know even less to the proper arts of dating." He explained.

"And you can help me?" Diana asked skeptically.

"Me and Bruce started defending Gotham together long before there ever was a League, if anybody knows Batman, it'd be me." Shadow Fox promised.

Diana folded her arms, "you still haven't explained how you plan to help me."

"Easy, I'll take you on some practice dates during your free-time so you can get the hang of what a normal date is, at least, if our luck holds out and a supervillain doesn't ruin the date every single time. I hear that's a thing with heroes." Naruto muttered.

"You think this will help me be more approachable to Bruce?" Asked the Amazon impatiently, time was very precious to her and she had wasted too much on this useless conversation.

Naruto gave an encouraging grin at her. "Let's just say I've dated my fair share of strong women in my life. There isn't a doubt in my mind that this is exactly what you need for Batman."

It didn't take long for Wonder Woman to think it through. It felt like it could work despite the major downside of Batman's nigh-impenetrable willpower, and she was free most of her mid-days (there wasn't a lot a warrior princess could do on the Watchtower except take shifts) so she sighed.

"I would say 'what could go wrong' but that would be fulfilling some sort of prophecy."

"Pretty sure you've already did the damage," Naruto added.

"We'll exchange numbers later, but for now, I have to handle my shift."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I got to get back to training my little ducklings harder than they've ever been trained to make up for the humiliation they costed me to Dinah."

With that, Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Wonder Woman to realize that all that time she was talking to one of his shadow clones. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists hard enough to break through a mountain. "I'm beginning to hate that ability of his."

* * *

After a well expensive First Class travel, Talia Al Ghul lounged in the safety of her limousine while scouting out the 'uninhabited' Mount Justice at Happy Harbor. "With all due respect, my Lady, but why did you call us here?" A gruff voice interrupted Talia's internal musings with the scenery. She refocused her attention at the trio of assassins before her eyes, a man with a hook for a hand, the infamous Black Spider, and a relatively new Assassin. A female. Talia did not know much about her, but she was the one in charge of the Serling operation.

"Yes. My father has pressing business with a hero that will be inside the Mountain, this particular hero is also in charge of the Team of children that has been interfering with the plans of my father's associates."

"So you want us to off him or something?" Black Spider suggested. The reward for his interruption was a lethal glare from Talia herself, hinting that like Ra's, she wasn't fond of being interrupted.

"No, far from it. There is without a doubt in my mind that this team of children will seek to stand in your way with eliminating Serling, the task my father requires you to do will be tricky, but you will be additionally rewarded for carrying it out." The Demon's Daughter promised. The two men smiled at each other at the prospect of rewards, but the female stared on at the older woman.

"We require you to distract the Team for a while, long enough to receive the sign from me alone that it is alright proceed with the target's execution."

The assassins glanced back and forth at each other in confusion as well as a little tension. "No disrespect to the Demon or his daughter, but I prefer to do jobs as quickly and effectively as possible." Black Spider had dared to speak up.

"I understand your unease, it was how I was trained as well," Talia replied, "that is why this mission is optional and failure to meet it will not have any repercussions. However, know that my father needs this to happen."

"We'll do it."

That was the first time the female assassin had ever spoke during the whole conversation, she sounded calm and confident of her abilities. Knowing her father's reputation, Talia would likely make a gamble to believe that the girl could back up said confidence.

"Very well, you are free to continue looking for Dr. Serling at your leisure." Talia reached for the door out of the car.

"Wait," the girl called out, Talia was beginning to admire her bravery for speaking out at her, but it was starting to get annoying.

"Is this special person the Master wants…..the Shadow Fox?"

There laid an uneasy silence between the four occupants of the black vehicle. Hook and Black Spider glanced back and forth in confusion while the two females stared on at each other

"And pray tell, how do you know that?" Talia demanded, she narrowed her eyes at the young girl in front her. The Daughter of the Demon theorized that the girl did not overhear her conversation with her father, but regardless, she knew something about Ra's plans and that meant she instantly knew too much for an assassin-for-hire of her standard.

"I didn't," the girl replied casually, "we…have a history, so to say."

Talia doubted the girl knew what Naruto was to Talia personally, so they must have met during one of his assassin missions when she was younger. For all she knew, Naruto might have influenced her to become the assassin that stood before the Demon's Daughter now.

"Clearly," Talia opted to reply while making mental notes to make background checks on the girl before her. "You have your mission, now get out."

As the three assassins dressed in civilian clothes left the vehicle, the most deadliest woman in the League of Shadows once again stared on at the Asian woman. Most assuredly, she would have to learn more about this curious Cheshire cat in the days to come.

* * *

"C'MON! I WANNA SEE SOME HUSTLE IN THOSE STEPS!" Naruto barked out.

Once the Team had their little summer fun in the sun, Naruto had strapped them all in a treadmill that ran at a healthy ten miles per hour with a little red line behind them. Should they ever fall back beyond the line, they got pelted with paint balls. Superboy –being the strongest- received powerful electric shocks to compensate for the paint balls.

"I believe the Team cannot take much more of this!" Aqualad gasped aloud, showing that the strain of constant running was also affecting him as well.

"Should've thought of that before Black Canary kicked your butts! I gave you valuable training and it looked like you all threw it on the wayside out there!" The Uzumaki yelled back,

"That doesn't even make sense!" Robin yelped in fatigued,

"'Bout as much sense as you getting whipped by Black Canary! Keep it going! I plan to make you all as fast as Wally at the end of this, fast enough to beat Canary with no contest!" Naruto encouraged while giving all of them a healthy paint ball to the chest.

As far as Naruto knew, he was gonna keep them running till they could run backward circles around Dinah Lance and not get hit, but unfortunately, fate had other plans.

"Green Arrow to Shadow Fox, is the Team busy?"

"I'm in the middle of some important training exercise, so this better not be a prank call or something." Naruto growled back.

"Nothing like that, I swear!" Green Arrow hastily replied. "It's just that I felt like it was time to introduce my new partner to the Team like we planned."

"Little Miss Helper Batman found? You sure she's ready to be a team player, you don't have the best of luck with protégés." He replied with concern, the last thing he needs is a female Roy on his team. Then again, he could probably beat that out of her.

"Don't worry, she can handle this. She's tough." Queen replied in a reassuring voice, as reassuring as he could get at the very least, it was Oliver "Jokester" Queen he was talking to.

"Fine," Naruto relented, "Send her over. I'll get the Team to look presentable."

* * *

_Gotham….._

"Can we do it now?"

"No! You know the proper ritual!"

"B-but His Most Crimson will surely accept it a little early…."

Terror no doubt coursed through the young woman's blood once she woke up bound, surrounded by darkness and two men wearing crimson robes who argued when it was the time to perform some sort of ritual, one that involves her blood.

"I'm in charge and I say we wait till the moon is high and full for blood, as the ritual dictates!" The baldheaded brute growled to the smaller one while brandishing a wicked blade stained with blood.

"B-but it's so cloudy!" The small one protested, "we wouldn't be able to see the moon during the day!"

"Yes we will, the Blood Lord will watch over us," the brute replied in a dreamy voice, as if he was talking about the woman of his dreams, while staring outside into the Gotham night.

"Look brother!" He laughed, waving his knife in a seeming drunken stupor, "The Bloody One watches over us now in pride! Can't you see him? Can't you!?"

"It's not him that's watching over you."

The two men spun quickly to the darkness behind him, the girl did as well, and it was to her relief to find Gotham's Dark protector residing over her.

"_It's me."_

A lone man growled as he presided in a building next to the men and their victim. He wasn't paid to help the Blood acolytes fight Batman and frankly, he wasn't stupid enough to risk it. Besides, Bats wasn't the target.

He reached into his trench to pull out a sleek phone and dialed the number to his long-term boss, he only had to wait a moment before the line was picked up on the other end.

"What is it?" A man spoke in a bored and impatient tone, meaning that he even though he had nothing to do, he still wouldn't waste his time conversing with his hired gun.

"Your boys got jumped by the Batman either by coincidence a loose lip in your little cult."

"And you clearly thought that they could handle the Batman," the man replied in a sarcastic tone, further irritating the man on the roof.

"You want me to protect your boys, that's gonna cost extra."

"And _that _attitude is why you haven't met my most influential sponsor yet." The man smugly spoke over the phone, reminding the assassin why he still allied himself with psychopaths.

The gray haired man sighed over the phone, calming his rising anger down. "It's only a matter of time before Batman catches wind of your whole operation and shuts your cult down. If you want…..I'll _erase _any leads to your plans."

"Excellent! Dear me, keep working like that, and you'll get want sooner than you think!" The phone hung up, leaving the man free to crush the device with his bare hands before throwing it away.

He was gonna enjoy making that man bleed very slowly, even more painfully.

* * *

"You 'flaked out' back in the mission briefing." Red Tornado speculated to Naruto.

The Team left to handle the Fog mission, Ollie had left to try and talk to Roy, leaving Naruto and Red Tornado to watch over the Cave till the Team returned.

Naruto sighed as he leaned against the Cave walls. "Of all the blonde haired girls, of all the fighters in Gotham, it had to be her."

"My analysis tells me that Artemis is somehow connected to you although she does not know this, would you care to explain?" The android asked innocently,

The blonde sighed depressingly once more, "Sorry Big Red, that's personal."

He was lucky to have concealed his shock that Artemis was the new protégé to Oliver, even more lucky that the arrival of "original" Red Arrow was more than enough of an excuse for him to sneak out. The silver lining is that he'd get to see Artemis a lot more, but the bad news is that if she was ever told the truth, even if it was a piece of it, then she wouldn't have to look very far for the answers.

"Regardless of personal affiliation with young Artemis, she is now apart of the Team and is therefore your responsibility." Red Tornado reminded

"You're so helpful." Naruto muttered, "Now help me with this thing if you're done being-"

Suddenly, the lights and the power began to turn off one by one, ending with the main computer and Red Tornado himself.

"EMP, great." Naruto muttered before putting on his fox mask. He laid out the android hero to the side before checking the computers, making sure that everything electronic was indeed turned off.

"This is just great," Shadow Fox said sarcastically, "Who would attack the League? Scratch that, who would attack the League in their own base-"

As if he knew along, he fluidly tilt his head back to dodge some throwing stars aimed at his head. He narrowed his eyes at the dozen of black dressed men armed with guns and swords

"Shadows," he growled as he gripped his fists and prepared himself for combat.

The assassins were quick to open fire at Shadow Fox who zipped left to right as he reached into his back pocket to pull out three little grey pellets. He tossed them into the ground, they exploded into thick smoke as the Shadow Fox tackled one of the Shadows down into the smoke, the others discarded their firearms and pulled out their swords.

Suddenly, Shadow Fox rose between two Shadows who reacted for a split second before swinging their swords at his chest but he blocked them both with two kunai in his hands before spin-kicking them both to dreamland's sweet embrace.

A Shadow attempted to impale Naruto, but he twisted to the side and allowed the blade to pass harmlessly between his arm and left side, then he locked the sword and began to mercilessly strike the man in the head. He grasped that sword while pulling out his own to challenge three other Shadows who rushed him with their swords out.

They circled Shadow Fox as a deadly dance erupted with the flash of steel. The Shadows were trying to kill Naruto without hitting their own companions while Naruto himself was spinning around as he slashed back at the swords, to distract his opponents.

Finally, he supposedly lost his balance, but that was only to throw the other Shadows off guard. He landed on his hands and began to twist his body, hitting all three Shadows with his flying feet, they all fell to the ground to join unconsciousness like their other comrades as Shadow Fox got back on his two feet.

Shadow Fox smoothly backed away from the slashing on a Shadow who foolishly believed he could take on Naruto alone, his hopes were quickly changed when his sword was slapped away from his hands. Naruto lifted the man up over his shoulders and threw him at two other Shadows that planned to attack the blonde superhero from behind.

The smoke cleared to show Naruto standing victorious over the beaten bodies of the League of Shadows.

Naruto smirked while he rubbed his hands of any dust. "Better go back to Tibet, or the Sahara Desert, or wherever the Shadows are holed up this time."

"Actually, we have found a nice place in Gotham recently, we'll begin moving Father's personal things there immediately."

The Shadow Fox did not react when he heard the voice of one who's heart was sworn to be his for all eternity, personally, he held a surge of emotions within and didn't know which one to choose. Once he turned around, he saw Talia in a black dress that was tight enough to show off her curvaceous form, but also loose enough to hide the guns and knives strapped on her.

Protection purposes. She was a Shadow as well.

"Talia," he stiffly spoke first, "you've caught me at an….unpleasant moment."

"Yes, I can see that." So she's upgraded to sarcasm, the world truly is doomed.

As the Shadow assassins got up and assisted each other to rising to their feet, Talia turned her back on her beloved, "I will be in town for a few days. Perhaps we'll talk then."

"So was this just a glorified greeting, or does this have anything to do with Dr. Serling and the Fog weapon?" Naruto questioned quickly.

"You take after the Detective so much, I'd have to say the former. Till we meet again." That was the only reply he received before the Shadows threw some smoke pellets, classic sign that they were leaving.

After their departure, the lights kicked back on in the Cave along with every other technology, but Naruto wasn't worried about that anymore.

The light in Red Tornado's eyes flickered back on as the android stiffly moved to get back on its feet, "An interference occurred in my systems. Did something happen while I was offline?" The android asked with the concern an android could give.

"It was….nothing, just a bug in the system I didn't notice. I've fixed it." Naruto replied Red Tornado stared at the blonde.

"I am still unfamiliar with the emotion of hate, but it is safe to assume that I thoroughly dislike being lied to Shadow Fox."

Naruto didn't even bother to make an excuse, he simply turned his head away while Red Tornado checked on Mount Justice main computers.

"_Aqualad to the Cave. Communications were offline for a brief period of time, is everything alright?" _Came the voice of Aqualad through the speakers.

"There was an interference that Shadow Fox has dealt with, that is all. Was the mission a success?" Red Tornado answered. The rest Naruto didn't hear, he was already using the Zeta tube to go home.

When he arrived at the polluted air and even more polluted (literally and metaphorically) streets that made up Gotham, Naruto was determined to go straight home and sleep the day away, but the sudden arrival of Talia had convinced him to take a slight detour.

Her home wasn't very far from the secret phone booth that made the Zeta Tube, the coincidence of that fact was known to Naruto, but he wasn't going to focus on that too much. He focused on the apartment that was a little above the halfway mark of the building, that apartment was illuminated by a lone light. He couldn't see a shadow, but he knew she was in there, for where else could she be?

'_Maybe I should….. it'd be a short visit. Maybe Bruce is right and I'm just paranoid? Could have been some punk who just got lucky.' _

He glanced back up to see a shadow at the window reaching for something, it made him panic and hide from sight.

'_Just…go home.' _He thought wearily as he walked away. The fastest way back to his sty of a home was to cut back through the Zeta Tube, and tonight, he was lucky that he took that route.

"Nice reflexes." Naruto instantly recognized the cocky voice of Spe-he means, Unoriginal Man- but why he was in Gotham confused the blonde.

He peeked his head out of the corner to see that Red Arrow was confronting Artemis

"You being Green Arrow's niece was a nice lie, but not good enough. But if Batman's in on it as well, then I guess your secret is safe."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as Red Arrow edged closer to Artemis to appear more menacing.

"But that'll change if you hurt the Team in any form of fashion. Understand?"

"I think we both do."

Red Arrow widened his eyes when he felt a hand on his shoulder and Shadow Fox's voice behind him. He backed away to see the man in his full unhappiness.

"The last time I checked, you called the Team a club to just control the other side kicks. Did you change your mind when you found out how affectively they stopped the Shadows _and _neutralize the Fog?" Naruto questioned.

"T-That's not what I was talking about-"

"The Team is my business and Artemis is part of the Team, meaning you threaten her in any form or fashion, you threaten me." Naruto reiterated to the crimson archer.

"If you have a problem with it, it doesn't concern me since you basically quit, remember? Get your butt back to Starling City before I kick it there."

Facing with only two options, Red Arrow glared once more at Artemis before he left via Zeta Tube.

"Thanks, but I could've handled that," Artemis spoke up when the boy had left.

"No, you wouldn't have. You would've just let him trample you because he wasn't wrong," Naruto replied, making Artemis look down.

"If he messes with you like that, just tell me." Naruto promised,

Artemis raised an eyebrow, "What, am I in kindergarten now?"

"When I've trained you up and proper, you'll wish!" Naruto exclaimed in a sadistic manner, the girl archer smirked at her new trainer.

"In your dreams, I've had some pretty rough training in my life."

"Famous last words. Training starts at 3:00. Don't eat, or you'll puke it all up."

**Chapter et finis!**

**Sorry for the short haitus. Like I said earlier, last week of school was devoted to school work. But now I'm back and as your reward for your diligent patience, time for a teaser!  
I will be basing this fanfic off of many DC movies and shows (minus Arrow and Flash, they're too complicated) meaning Supergirl will be in this fanfic amongst many others.**

**Can you guess what the assassin is yet? You likely can't, my clues are harder than the Riddler's! **

**Anyway, Wonder Woman and Black Canary are the winners of the polls so they're the final members, guess Batman can keep Catwoman all to herself. **

**If you haven't guessed it, the League of Shadows making a new base inside of Gotham signifies the rise of Arkham City, that'll be fun once we get there, if we get there. The reviews are showing a negative trend.**

**Anyway, keep reviewing, keep reading, and remember!**

**MAY THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BE WITH YOU, ALWAYS**


	8. Chapter 8: The Dice Begins to Roll

**9Hello People of Planet Earth! The Phantom Penance has made his return!**

**It's been a long time since I made an update. I've been kinda busy, you should check my profile page, but I'm back and ready to give you more!**

**Due to some….difficulties concerning my level of writing expertise, I've made a risky gamble to skip Episodes Denial and Downtime. Yeah, it's a risk, but I had to do it so I could make sure my fanfic flows smoothly.**

**So sorry if this chapter feels a little choppy, but it was for the greater good.**

**Anyway, back to the story!**

**Chapter 8: The Dice Begin to Roll**

* * *

Multi-tasking was a skill level that surpassed even Naruto's talents, that's why he had Shadow Clones to handle his affairs while he attended to the more important things at hand, like spending a week with an assassin princess/fiancé.

They went to dinner, although that quickly turned into an interrogation mostly due to Talia trying to keep things short and sweet, it took a little time and effort, but Naruto got her down to his level of thinking…

* * *

"I've never understood the allure of hotdogs. You don't know a thing about them, and yet people just dive in, expecting them to be delicious, much less not poisoned." Talia examined her rudimentary dinner with high scrutiny.

As Ra's successor by birth, she was trained by her early childhood to expect all her food to have some form of poisoning. Even though her body holds a fairly impressive immunity to many known poisons, there was a limit to what the human body can take, so she carried with her the necessary utensils to check her food. However Naruto took those away since it would no doubt make a scene.

"Why don't you have a little faith that the sky isn't gonna fall today?" He cheerfully asked while applying an unhealthy load of condiments on his own hotdog.

Talia pursed her lips, "You have gotten more optimistic since you have joined these heroes, beloved. Perhaps you have hanged around Flash too much."

Ah yes, the beloved. Ever since that time many years ago, all Talia has ever called him-aside from his real name- was beloved. No honey, no dear, no sweet, not even fiancé (at least, not in his face). Just beloved. To Talia, it may have been a simple truth, but to Naruto, it felt more binding than any engagement in existence.

"Yeah, that's gotta be it." Naruto chuckled while scratching the back of his head.

The duo of assassins walked through the small gathering at the Gotham pier, a place where vermin crawled up from the darkness at night, though it was full of life and vigor during the day. Not a word was mentioned about Naruto's loyalties to the Shadows or not for that was a conversation that even Talia herself did not want to have.

In all honesty, Talia secretly wanted to stop being an assassin bred for glory and leadership for a while and just pretend that she was just as oblivious as the people around her. Pretend that she was hoplessly in love with the man whose shoulder she clutched and believe that nothing else mattered.

It felt good to pretend sometimes.

* * *

While that was happening, a clone of Naruto kept up his regular duties and trained the Team up to their maximum potential. Not gonna lie, that was an uphill battle that was only getting worse since each of them had their own way of fighting.

However, the glue that made them into a well-oiled machine during missions was naturally M'Gann. She was like the cheerleader, the optimist, and most importantly, the one with the telepathic abilities…

* * *

"RWAH!"

Superboy bullrushed Naruto, but the Kryptonian's mentor sidestepped and threw him right into Artemis' arrow.

'_I see. Superboy was the bait to catch me unaware of Artemis' arrows. Clever.' _Shadow Fox smirked before backing away from Kid Flash's "hit-and-run" technique which could have worked if not for one problem: his superspeed has a habit of making a strange noise.

Robin jumped his way in with a kick aimed at Naruto's face, it was as obvious as his very first Robin costume, and the boy was very adamant about never speaking about the dubbed "traffic light" ever again.

Boy Wonder backflipped and rushed the blonde. As expected for a sidekick of Batman, Robin attempted to Naruto no room to think all the while placing up a marvelous defense, but Naruto knew the boy's tactics in warfare, partially because he taught them to the kid.

It certainly was demasculative for Robin to be picked up so easily then thrown at Aqualad, but he'd get over it.

* * *

While that was becoming a thing, Naruto created another Shadow Clone to do something incredibly stupid. Why he even thought of the idea was beyond him, it could have been the rising events and Talia's sudden appearance sent him back down memory lane .

* * *

There wasn't much Paula could do around her simple apartment. Jobs were already hard for a disabled woman in Gotham and a lot of the other ones required people who…invested their skills in other areas than the ones she chose.

The Wayne Disability Program helped her with most of the expenses along with….outside intervention, but there always was just not enough money for her and Artemis.

Ah yes, Artemis was Paula's main focus in life now. She was Paula's life and joy now, and she nearly acted like Paula when she was much younger. After Jade left with that man, Artemis unfortunately saw the drawbacks of her departure to Paula and instantly hated Lawrence all the more.

She's all grown up now and still very much determined to not be her father, but little did she know that she did not need to do anything at all to prove she was nothing like Sportsmaster, and that was going to stay Paula's little secret.

The door knocked, pulling Paula out of her thoughts and her mail.

"I'm coming, just a moment." She called as she wheeled herself away from the table.

She made a quick trip at the counter so she could put a brown bag in her coat pocket, the bag jiggled and there came the metallic cling of several bullets clumping together. Legs or not, Paula was still an assassin at heart and not many people knew where she lived, that's why her left hand was always ready to reach underneath her wheelchair to pull out her handgun if things turned out bad.

It took just a minute to unlock the door then back her chair away to open it with a full swing, to show an empty hallway.

"Hello?" Paula called down the hallway, looking both to the left and the right.

She narrowed her eyes and went back inside her apartment, no doubt going to get into a safe position if things go sour, never knowing that the stranger who answered her door was standing on the wall outside of the entire building, nearly about to have a heart attack.

* * *

At the very least, Naruto's failed attempt to reconcile with Paula faired a whole lot better than his date with Diana. He didn't even want to talk about that, it was a complete disaster. Let's just say that she had no experience of even mingling with the rest of society, let alone try to have a date with them. After paying for the damages done to the restaurant, Naruto thought it best if they first dine in the privacy of his apartment before she attempts to go outside.

After two Team missions and a fistful of dates, Talia had to go back to her father and happily report that Naruto had not changed at all, even if it was a partial lie. Naruto, on the other hand, was exiled to do patrols in Gotham while Batman handled Justice League affairs.

That was all right for him. After receiving all the memories of the clones, he wanted to be alone for a little while.

* * *

"ARGH!" The screams of a lone thug pierced the darkness of Gotham.

The fool thought he could get a few shots in at Shadow Fox, though if it was Batman, he would've just surrendered and prayed that the Dark Knight wouldn't break every bone in his body. Yeah, Shadow Fox was too much of an optimist to be as menacing as his dark partner, so he had to settle-

"OH GOD!" The man wailed as his knee socket shattered.

_-with pain._

"Now that sounded like it's not going to heal for quite some time now. You're lucky I didn't shoot you in the leg or stab you. Considering how much vermin live in these streets, you're liable to catch a disease for certain." Shadow Fox patted the whimpering man on the head.

"As the saying goes: experience is the worst kind of teacher. It gives you the test before actually teaching you the lesson. Now, what did you learn tonight?"

"To-to not bruh-bruh-break the law." The man spurgled.

Naruto nodded and stared at the man critically, "Are you sure? A lot of people often have speech problems and really meant 'to not get caught breaking the law'. Is that what you're _really _saying?"

"No! No, I swear!"

"We'll see about that. If I ever see you mugging anybody again, I'm shooting the left leg, then the right." Naruto threatened before he headbutted the man to uneasy dreams.

"Gordon, I got some trash that needs to be delivered to Blackgate."

"I'll get some men on it." The Commissioner of Gotham promised over the radio, "Shadow Fox, I just got a dispatch. Some people claim to have just seen Harley Quinn in the toy shop. You know which one I'm talking about."

The fox themed ex-assassin, now turned hero, groaned while carefully grasping the hilt of his sword. Joker and Quinn had a fallout due to some "relationship issues" if being thrown out of a window could be called that. Nevertheless, without her Pudding, Harley continues to be a threat, but mostly to herself. She really was a hindrance most of the time.

* * *

"Lemme go, ya stupid blonde!"

"…..by saying that, you insulted yourself, ya know."

"You're no fun."

What the the Clown Princess of Blunders lacked in effectiveness, she more than made up with her mastery of being annoying. She talked, and talked, and talked, talked some more, and more talk.

"I'll take it from here sir. She'll get a cell." A policeman promised as he took custody of the blonde woman. Naruto only got a glimpse, but the man had a brown, short trimmed beard as well as moustache and blue eyes.

It was an appearance that Naruto had a strange sense that he recognized that face, or someone who had those similar features, but he has been to Arkham many times, so he dismissed it.

"What's up? You normally would just hand over the villains outside Arkham, why the change?" Gordon asked as he walked to Shadow Fox's side.

"Harley gave up quickly, a little too quickly for my tastes." Shadow Fox confided.

"Well, she doesn't have a track record of being the most difficult fighter you've faced." Gordon replied.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, but something doesn't feel right. She broke in a toy store for a doll product that hasn't even come out yet. She definitely wanted to get caught."

"She probably went over her head again and wanted to see Joker." Gordon assumed. They both stared at each other, letting Gordon's own words reach their brain, before nodding and leaving to one of the many security rooms in Arkham.

"He can't be in here!" An Arkham officer fumbled while pointing at Naruto.

"It's alright son, he's with me." Commissioner Gordon assured. "We need to see the cameras on Cell 1, immediately."

"He-he really can't be in here," the officer repeated, "Warden Sharp and Dr. Hugo Strange told us that no capes should be in Arkham-"

"Kid, if you don't show us that camera right now, you're gonna wish that every cape is in Arkham." Naruto threatened.

The man held up his hands, "Alright, alright! I'm sooooo gonna get fired for this…"

He only had to push two buttons before a screen mounted in front of Naruto and Gordon flashed onto a cell door. Inside was a man-no, a monster- in a straight jacket with his feet bound, and giggling away in isolation.

Why he was not also gagged held a very simple explanation: no one did not want to get close to the clown. To see his crazed eyes, hear whatever poison that came out of his mouth, allow him to corrupt you from the inside out till he kills you or does worse.

With the Joker, they are far more frightening things than death.

'_Filth's still alive,' _Naruto mentally growled. Alive, and thankfully, still locked far away from anyone he could hurt.

"There, he hasn't moved a-"

The man was cut off as the lights cut off, and not just the lights, so did the TVs, the elevators, the doors, and the radios.

Arkham Asylum's entire power was gone.

* * *

A group of six were all in the downstairs of Arkham when the power cut off, but they did not panic as no doubt the rest of the staff in Arkham did.

"Hey, who turned off the bleedin' lights? This wasn't in the plan," An Austrailian complained.

"Shut up Kangaroo, we aren't doing this." A woman growled.

"Looks like we aren't the only ones that has a date with Arkham tonight." The leader of the group surmised. His eyes narrowed as he did not like surprises, but it mattered little to him now. Task Force X had a mission, and it was do or die time.

Literally, thanks to a certain fat woman.

* * *

"Well, I had my skepticism, but you brought me out of that cell, gave me back all my good toys, and practically handed me the keys to Arkham! Hehe, cat boy, consider me a believer in magic." Laughed the undoubtedly most twisted man in existence as he brushed off imaginary dirt on his purple jacket.

Warden Sharp was being well taken care of by Joker's goons in the corner of the Warden's own office, but they were given an expressed command not to kill the man. He still had his uses to…..his new employers, and even moreso if he actually became mayor.

The dark haired boy responsible of the events in Arkham petted his cat while he sat criss-crossed on Sharp's very expensive desk.

"I should be a good boy and bring you back to the Light….but I'm a fan of your work, and I'd love to see what sort of chaos you're going to bring to Arkham."

The Joker chuckled maliciously at little Klarion, "Oho, I can tell we're going to be the best of friends."

"This is all nice, but if this a crazy people get together, then I think you got the wrong gal." Poison Ivy spoke up. She was also taken out of her cell and his currently being held by two of Joker's goons.

"Ahh yes, miss Ivy. The Light is in need of your womanly touch to nature." Klarion addressed the reformed villainess with that same smug smile on his face.

"Sorry, but I don't take orders from little kids." Isley smirked, but the Witch-Boy continued to smile in an aggravating way.

"Lady, I'm anything but a kid. Besides, you're compliance was never really necessary."

With that, his face turned demonic as he chanted something in ancient Latin, why Latin, because it sounded so much better than saying things backwards.

Pamela gasped as she lost consciousness then vanished in a red portal.

"What about me?" Edward Nigma demanded, "I did everything you asked, I even worked with Strange! Where's my ride out?"

"Ain't my problem," Klarion replied nonchalantly, "You wanna get out so bad? Find your own way out."

"Never mind that now Nigma! You're gonna want to see this." Joker laughed while he accessed the main computer of Arkham Asylum.

Legends spoke of a computer system that controlled every security in Arkham Asylum, it even controlled supposed cameras that were secretly hidden inside the bathrooms. It was said that it was installed since the first massive breakout of Arkham after the Batman and Shadow Fox made their debut, and that only Warden Sharp knew where it was.

However, it was his mistake that he confided its location to Hugo Strange who then told the necessary people, including the Joker.

In the end, ultimate power over Arkham and all the madness it held was under the mercy of the asylum's most twisted patient yet, and he was going to use it. Oh yes, he _was _going to use it well.

"First thing's first: A party's gotta have some guests. We'll start with Croccy then work our way down."

* * *

**And we're done! **

**Sorry if I rushed things a bit in this chapter, but trust me, it was for a good cause. Anyway, I had to juggle the intentions of the Light with the premise of Arkham Asylum as well as the Young Justice episodes, so I decided to use Assault on Arkham to be the glue for it all.**

**Anyway, the next chapter is gonna be a looong night for Naruto while the Team goes on a desperate search for their memories in Bialya, looks like Young Justice is about to do some major soul searching.**

**If you're complaining about how I doubt add enough Naruto and Team bonding time, I plan to fix that in the next two chapters or so, things were really fast paced at the beginning of Young Justice, but we're reaching the middle where the Team faces internal struggles and Naruto may not have a choice about not being there.**

**Anyway, next chapter: Naruto vs. Arkham Asylum and Task Force X! No reinforcements! No outside intervention! No mercy!**

**Review your complaints or your expectations, and I will respond via PM, or a review of my own if you don't have an account.**

**MAY THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BE WITH YOU, ALWAYS.**


	9. AN: READ!

**Hey gang! This is the Phantom Penance!**

**You're probably wondering why the long update? Well, it was because I was having a problem with the story, now I'm having a HUGE problem with the story!**

**Basically, I'm taking it back to the drawing board. That doesn't mean I'm abandoning it, it just means that I'm working on a new storyline, a better storyline, better than the one I already had.**

**Naruto is still gonna be the same and the harem is still gonna work, but I'm going to give Naruto his own storyline as well as ask myself the question: should the Shinobi World interact with the normal world?**

**IF YOU WANT TO BE APART OF MY DECISION MAKING, COME JOIN A FORUM I WILL (TRY) TO MAKE! IT'LL BE MY FIRST, SO I MIGHT MESS UP A BIT.**

**It'll take some time-a week or so-and then I'll post the Arkham Asylum chapter that you all have been **_**dying **_**to see!**

**Heck, why not give you a preview now? It's the least I can do:**

"_So I've got escaped convicts, whatever Joker's people are doing, __and __Waller's new task force snooping around for God knows what reason!" Shadow Fox moaned. This escaped was shaping up to take his entire afternoon._

"_Waller's Squad is made up of villains who's never worked with a partner in their career, they'd rat each other out in a heartbeat. It's only Waller's authority that holds them together, they'll be easy to take down." Black Canary insisted, eager for a major beatdown._

"_But my men can't handle these psychopaths by themselves. We need your help to make sure they don't get off the island." _

"_However, it wouldn't matter if we leave the likes of Joker and Scarecrow to have unlimited control over Arkham." Naruto replied to Gordon. "My clones aren't very helpful in an area this closed (and full of guns), so the fact of the matter is that we need help."_

"_DID ANYBODY CALL FOR A SUPERHERO?"_

_The voice came from above, and it was painstakingly familiar to the Bird of Prey and Fox of Shadows. Why? Because it was so annoying._

"_Then I'm your guy!"_

"_Why me!?" Naruto wailed. His knees hit the ground with his hands outstretched high into the air, thoroughly embarrassing as well as confusing his comrades._

"_Why meeeeeeeeeee!?"_

_**.**_

"_He seems to be busy at the moment. The asylum had been breached."_

"_Should we catch him at a more convenient time, Mother?"_

"_No child, this will not wait any longer."_

**WHO IS THIS NEW HERO? (BROWNIE POINTS IF YOU CAN GUESS! HERE'S A HINT: HE'S IN JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED!) **

**WHO IS THE NEW PERSON WHO SEEMS TO BE LOOKING FOR A MALE IN THE ARKHAM INCIDENT?**

**FIND OUT…..IN A WEEK!**

**MAY THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BE WITH YOU, ALWAYS**


	10. Chapter 10: Black, Blue, and Fool's Gold

**Hello Guys! The Phantom Penance will NEVER give up!**

**Sorry for the long wait. I've had epiphany after epiphany and I had to go back to where I started. I promise, after this chapter, King of gods and Time to Change the World will be updated as well, for I AM A MAN OF MY WORD!**

**I won't put it off. I know how long you've waited, so let's begin!**

* * *

**CHAPTER TEN: Black, Blue, and Fool's Gold**

_Undisclosed Location…._

The dying scream and the flash of blood. Same old deal.

He's been working with these cultists for years, this is of no surprise to him. Any emotions of the ritual had vanished on day 25, except one: Impatience. He's been doing this job far longer than any job he's ever taken, and he's still nowhere near the end goal that he's sought. Half of his mind wants to cut his losses and just steal it while the other half wants to kill the crazies and take his vengeance.

But he must be patient. His master boasted of the _thief's _boundless supply of patience when it comes to the kill, so if he wants to prove to all –to _her- _that he's the better warrior, he must beat the thief in every aspect, including patience.

His employer just finished his bath and with a snap, the cultists garb him in that white robe he's so fond of. Time to let the boss know where he stands.

"I know what it is you ask of, my warrior." The boss suddenly spoke, before he could even utter a word. That alone won't surprise him, or at least make him show it.

"Our bargain has reached its limit." He spoke, "You either give me what I want right now, or your blood will join that pool you're so fond of."

The Boss laughed, naturally. "You cannot comprehend the power I hold, especially after my bathing. I could destroy you in an instant."

Neither men back down and the cultists know better than to interfere. Their master's warrior has proven his strength many times before and his knowledge of how to kill a man the longest, most painful way possible. No, an end like that is not what they desire. And yet, their true master is powerful in the mystic ways and very in touch with…the evil one. He could give them a fate worse than death.

Better to wait and see where the dice falls.

"However….." the master began, "am I not a man of my word? I made a promise you would get what you receive after serving my cause, and I shall honor it."

The employed smirks, it's about time his hard earned work-

"One more."

"What?" He demanded sharply. The bloodied one smirked as he turned to face a window to the city above them.

"The ultimate ritual requires the blood of one more chosen one. When you have found her, all our acolytes- including your benefactor- must answer the call and attend. That is when you can get what you desire."

The hired killer rubbed his chin. His vengeance was closer than he thought it would be, IF he has the patience to go after one more girl. "Very well. Where can I find her?"

Blood grinned maliciously. "She will not be easy, this one. She is not like the others, she is well trained."

Now it was his turn to smirk. "She's not trained to deal with me…"

**(LINE BREAK! TAKE THIS TIME TO EAT, GET OFF THE INTERNET, DO SOMETHING!)**

* * *

**(OKAY, LINE BREAK OVER. WORK TIME)**

_Gotham City…..._

Artemis fell face first in the comforting arms of her pillow and bed. Between school, the Team, and an overwhelming amount of Wally's dumb antics, she's had very little time for herself, to unwind and relax. That's good for her, having little time to relax, because her schedule keeps her too busy to worry about unnecessary things, as well as the hypothetical. Nothing scares her more than the hypothetical.

Like, what if they find out? What if Red Arrow finds out and exposes her to them? What if she's no longer a hero and becomes like her father? What would they do to her, her mother?

Questions that are unrelenting enough to drive anyone mad, let alone a teenaged girl who already has to deal with the heavy life-choices ahead of her on top of the questions. Thankfully, she doesn't have to think very hard on the questions tonight. Even now, when she's resting, she's still keeping herself busy.

By trying to decipher exactly what Cheshire said to her when she was pinned.

"_Look at you go! Being the good girl and keeping her family out of jail. Dad would be so proud of you, if you even still call him that these days."_

Could be anything. Could be Cheshire throwing her a fast-curve, making her even more confused so she could get away. Could be her agreeing with Artemis for once, that Dad was a selfish piece of trash that ruined their chance at a normal life for whatever reason.

OR it could be what she's implying. That he's not….

'_There's an easy way to find out,' _her mind whispers to her, but she would never do it. She wouldn't hurt her own mother like that. No mother or father wants to hear their child question who their real parents is, even if their current father is a murdering supervillain. And a total jerk to his family.

No. Everybody's so interested in her recently, why don't she find out what all the fuss is about? Quietly.

But for now….SLEEP!

**(LINE BREAK! GO BE WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!)**

* * *

**(LINE BREAK OVER! YOU CAN COME BACK NOW!)**

_Arkham Asylum…_

Back against the wall….overwhelming forces…..pure evil trying to escape…..what else can one say when help finally arrives?

"_Absolutely freaking not."_

His smile dropped. Her face got puzzled. Naruto's face, however, was dead set on what he just said. Absolutely not. NO NO NO NO NO. If there was ever one thing he and Batman were so adamantly dead set on, it was this.

Booster Gold was not to be trusted. Not because he's deceptive. The man couldn't tell a good lie to fool a baby. Plus he's a Green Lantern costume knockoff, can't even come up with his own scheme, but that's irrelevant now.

"Aw c'mon SF-"

"Don't call me that."

"This place is shut down along with comms to the Watchtower and GCPD, you need all the help you can get! Especially if it's from a certified hero!"

Nothing that came out of his mouth boosted confidence inside Shadow Fox. "I've read your m.o., you're vain and undisciplined. You'd just get in the way."

"I agree that he's not the best of help," Black Canary spoke, despite Booster Gold's displeasure, "but we're at the end of our ropes here. Any help is good help to me."

Naruto stared sharply at her. "I'm fine with you helping despite knowing the reason why you're here."

"Job application," she answered smoothly.

Made perfect sense. "Wrong place for a job Canary. Arkham's full of bloody maniacs, not villains with complicated pasts."

"That's not what I heard," the martial arts master shot back. "I heard someone here turned a new leaf, pun intended, and I wanted to make it a domino effect."

"Guys, we can play catch up later!" Booster Gold interjected. "Right now, we've got a bunch of maniacs that need to get back in their cells. Let's do this already!"

Shadow Fox stared at the D-List hero. "Gold's right, chat later. Gordon'll rally his men to keep the inmates on the island. Canary, find a way to get the comms back on, and don't get too close to the inmates, madness can make them very strong."

The Bird of Prey smirked, "I can handle strong."

"And you," Shadow Fox addressed Gold, "are leaving."

Once again, Booster Gold's joyful countenance fell. "Aw c'mon!"

"If I may interject." The voice came from above, a robot that looked oddly like a football with a black eye and a red iris. "My programming is advanced enough to assist Black Canary in restoring power to the facility." Skeets supplied.

"Wait Skeets, you could do that all this time?" Booster Gold asked, astounded.

"You never required me to hack anything sir," Skeets responded in a kind of apologetic tone, as if it was sorry it kept something from him.

"But what about that time when-"

"Anyway, that sounds like a great idea." Shadow Fox cut in. "Skeets, join Canary and get communications running again. Gold, I _guess_ you can help Gordon keep the inmates on the island until Skeets and Canary are finished. Then you leave my city."

"Awesome! Time for some heroic work!" Gold exclaimed as he took to the sky.

'_Don't make me regret this.' _Naruto silently thought. Now that he thought about it really, Booster Gold is a time traveler with knowledge of the past…who just so happens to be in Gotham when a breakout is being taken place- oh that lying….

"What are you going to do?" Canary questioned, breaking the Shadow Fox out of his internal rant.

The blonde smirked as he faced the Arkham building. "Clearly, Arkham Asylum has a new warden." He popped his knuckles as his smirk turned into a full blown grin. "I'm gonna give him a review on his recent performance."

**(LINE BREAK! LIVE LIFE!)**

* * *

**(LINE BREAK DONE!)**

_Warden's Office…._

"Oho! Sharpie! Why didn't you tell me you had all these little toys? Oh, we could have really made a connection," laughed one of the most insidious people in the history of earth, the Joker.

Oh, he was having the time of his life, a real blast! Of course, this was all a very short notice and his friends on the other side wanted him for something special, but what can you say? Joker is nothing if not quick on his feet.

Scarefreak's a real help, had some things fresh out of storage that could really turn this town upside down. Planned to present it to the NightLight group in hopes of joining in their little club meetings, but they had an alternative fun-juice from Joker's good old buddy Bane. Oh well, more for the Clown Prince of Crime. All that was need was some of that famous Scare-Gas (though he had to admit, it was still a cheap knock of the _real _Laughing-Gas), Bane venom, and some plants Ivy left behind.

Put it together and whadd'ya got? Certainly not Hippity-Boppity-Boo. A really big bang going down in Arkham. Some days, it really does pay to get beat up by an over-grown stooge in bat-tights.

"…_.Uuuhhh Boss?" _Joker's smile quickly turned to a scowl.

"What!?" He snapped in his radio. Thugs, always interrupting his special moments. Harley at least respected-

"_Umm, there's some guys here who aren't supposed to be here. We-uh- we think Miss Quinn's with them."_

Harley!? "My Harley!?" This warranted an immediate inspection. IMMEDIATELY. With a click of a button, Joker was treated to his favorite show of the day: all the security cameras of Arkham Asylum. Most showed the same thing: unrelenting, irrefutable, maddening chaos in Arkham, but some had some more interesting people.

"Well, whadd'ya know? Harley's flown the coup!" Joker growled, "and she's leaning on some boring chump too close for _my _comfort!"

And that wasn't even the worst part! The heroes were already ruining his fun. Especially with the fox brat! He wasn't even supposed to be here, in Gotham! Gotham is a playground that belongs strictly to Batsy and him! They're playground to play their crazy little game for eternity, and like the Boy Blunder, he was ruining that!

"Time for me get some new fur," Joker muttered, then grinned as a dastardly evil plan came to his mind. "And I won't even have to go hunting." More insane laughs escaped his mouth, and the poor Warden in the corner had no choice but to hope and pray the laughs weren't intended for him.

* * *

_(Black Canary)_

"_Arkham schematics show that Arkham's telecommunications room is this way. Please try to keep up, time is not on our side," _Skeets called behind him.

'_Easy for him to say.' _Black Canary thought to herself as ran a Joker goon face-first into a wall. There was plenty of inmates and goons to try and keep her from reaching the comm room. _Trying _is the key word, but they at least get an A for effort. Five to a dozen at a time, she can handle. If there's more than that, she has to get a little….vocal with them. They usually catch the rift.

Before she applied to a job, Dinah did a little bit of study on Arkham history and texture. The website declared it to be a grand asylum with state-of-the-art technology and strong walls to keep the inmates inside and safe for treatment, but a closer look told Dinah the truth.

It was a wonder Arkham hadn't collapsed already. Down in the lower quarters, main pillars were created above dark chasms that never seemed to end with the path between the chasm completely void of railing. The walls were strong enough not to fall to natural circumstances, but the world had become increasingly crazy since Arkham's creation and Arkham itself contained the worst of its crazy.

It wasn't a wonder how so many was able to escape. In fact, some might be escaping to get out of this death trap waiting to spring loose, but that'll have to wait.

"Die, b-" goon didn't even get to finish before Canary launched herself into action. Disarmed the gunman, went for head to confuse, took out the knee, lifted and threw to the wall to knock out. Moves that took only a few seconds for the master to deploy.

"We're getting close, right?" Canary questioned.

Skeets…..sort of nodded. _"It should be right above us now. We just have to take the elevator up."_

Canary nodded. Seemed easy enough, but appearances were always deceiving when it comes to hero work. That's one of the top ten hero rules. Best to get it done fast to save the maximum amount of lives possible.

The elevator pinged open. The entrance to comms room was oddly unprotected, a big sign that the fight ahead was not going to be easy.

* * *

_(Booster Gold)_

The greatest of all, the mightiest of might, Booster Gold, scoured the sky in search of anything that would dare to escape the island and his inescapable focus.

'_There!' _He thought as he spotted a speed boat trying to speed away and quickly swooped downward to intercept.

Apparently, the men inside it spotted him and realized what sort of trouble they were in for he pulled out an automatic and fired madly into the sky. Booster gave him a sporting chance, bobbing and weaving back and forth to dodge the bullets before letting the bullets hit his shields, and showing the escapees just how hopeless their endeavor was.

"Sorry pals, but when Booster Gold's on the job, crime never pays!" He smirked before connecting his fist into both of their jaws.

"That was a good one, gotta remember it the next time!" He made sure to make himself remember to remind Skeets to remind himself to use that at the next interview he should come across.

Guess it didn't really matter where Booster dropped the thugs off, GCPD and Arkham staff would figure out who goes where when the whole thing blows over. He dropped them at a reasonably far distance before spotting some more trouble that required his attention: officers pinned by gunfire of Joke goons and there was no one to help. _Or was there?_

"Don't worry, Booster Gold's got your back!" He proudly declared before landing straight in front of the goons, watching the bullets harmlessly ricochet off his shields. Making sure they were set to stun, Booster gave the goons a little taste of his power blasts.

Knowing that they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, Booster turned and faced the cops. Ooh, one of them was pretty hot.

"You saved our butts back there. Good job." The hot one thanked.

"Praise from 'Stone-wall' Montoya? That's new," her partner joked. **(AN: Renee Montoya. If you get the joke, kudos to you)**

Booster Gold smirked and saluted. "It was no problem for a hero, Ma'am! Gotta jet!"

With that, he took off again. "That was _another _good one!" He exclaimed. Wow, he really was on a role today! And to think, he was sitting on a bench earlier, moaning that the future had changed again and he'd never get his chance to shine.

Think again! Even the police were beginning to see how awesome he was! It was only a matter of time till he gets on the League, and right next to-

"_What the-!?" _In his moment of glory and daydreams, Booster Gold paid little attention to his surroundings i.e. a giant tentacle that grabbed his leg and began to shake him back and forth.

A brief moment of adjustment allowed Booster to look down below and see inmates and police both breath in a pink gas, and become like one of things on a scary movie-zombies, yeah, zombies.

'_Great! I had one job, watch over the police, and I flunked that too!' _Booster Gold self-lamented, perhaps not yet aware that the pink gas was coming his way.

* * *

_(Black Canary)_

"…_.What is this?" _Canary asked calmly.

"_It should be here!" _Skeets persisted. _"My information is hardly ever wrong! About trivial matters like these, that is." _

To put it short: the reason everything was so easy was because Skeets lead her in the _wrong _direction. They stood in an empty room guarded by nothing.

"You're from the future, so you already knew about this event?" Black Canary questioned. "So let's ask a hypothetical question. Say a building that conveniently held the comms array in Arkham was to…fall down. By that chance, would it be moved to somewhere….say _here?"_

If machines could look flustered, Skeets definetly would be. _"That…..isn't outside the realm of logic."_

Black Canary would have face-palmed herself if she lacked proper tact. She should have seen this coming. She was taking the directions of a futuristic machine whose info is based of events that _might _be, not what is.

"_D-Do not worry, Miss Canary!" _Skeets spoke quickly. _"It'll be easy for me to recalibrate my set of schematics with a more….updated version. It'll only take me a few moments."_

"-And in that time, we will catch up old times." Came a different voice, from behind them both.

Black Canary spun quickly and got into a defensive style while Skeets did the smart thing and got behind her. The figure in the doorway was a shadowy one, and certainly not alone, but the smaller companion wore all black, and therefore unrecognizable.

But Canary knew the tall one. Wearing the darkest of red and in possession of one of the most deadliest bodies in the history of unarmed combat. A woman with long, black hair, and a face that has seen death in her own life and in the life of those who the misfortune of crossing her path.

"_Shiva." _Canary all but spat out her name. She had a rivalry with Shiva, Canary who prided her skills in the martial arts has faced defeat at the hands of the martial genius that was Shiva time and time again. But she did manage to beat Shiva a couple times too, making the score between them unfinished.

"Calm yourself," spoke Shiva. "I am not here to fight you."

Despite knowing Shiva to be a woman of truth and a certain aspect of honor, Canary didn't let up her stance, even for a moment. She briefly eyed the one who was with Shiva, a child.

"A new progeny?" She questioned. Shiva stared down at the girl.

"My daughter, Cassandra." Shiva's answer shocked Canary. Shiva's belief was that only the strongest male alive could ever lay with her, and have children. And since she's technically considered the most deadly human female on the planet, her standard is ridiculously high.

"That would explain why you dropped off the radar for some time." Canary replied.

"I was training her," Shiva replied. "You see, she's quite anxious to finally meet her father."

* * *

**Chapter completed!**

**Guys, you don't know how late I stayed up, finishing this chapter! It's midnight turning 1 in about….. six minutes. No wait, five. Nevermind!**

**OOOHHHHH bet'cha didn't see that coming! What coming? A lot of things coming! What's gonna happen? Who's going to save Booster Gold? What's gotten Artemis in a bind? What's Joker planning? Who's Cassandra's father-that's so obvious by now-, what about the SUICIDE SQUAD!?**

…**..Does it feel like this whole chapter is a big cliffhanger? I get that feeling. Oh well.**

**Let's not forget about the assassin in the very beginning, that was weird. What does he want that's so important to kidnap children for some maniac to kill and bathe in their blood? Gruesome? That's the world of DC for ya. Who's the last girl? Do we know her?**

**Anyway, tune in next time (and by next time, I swear I don't mean next year)**

**MAY THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BE WITH YOU, ALWAYS)**


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